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 Original Articles |
| Efficacy of Acyclovir on Varicella in Children with Malignancy |
| Kyu Han Kim, Kyoung Chan Park, Hee Young Shin*, Hyo Seop Ahn, Woo Seok Koh** |
| Department of Dermatology and *Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, **Department of Dermatology Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea |
Vol.27 Num.3 (p267~271)
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Background : Varicella usually is a benign disease but may be fatal in immunocompromised children. The increasing survival rates in childhood leukemia and other malignancies suggest that a greater number of children receiving prolonged anticancer therapy will be at risk for varicella. Acyclovir, administered orally or intravenously, is known to be a quite effective antiviral agent, but the exact dose or duration of administration, especially in patients with malignancy, has not been established.
Methods : We performed a prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous acyclovir on varicella in 14 children with various underlying malignancies. Varied doses of acyclovir(5, 10, 15, 20 mg/kg tid) were administered until 2~4 days after all the vesicles of varicella were changed into crusts. The clinical features of varicella in those patients before administering acyclovir were also observed.
Results : Varicella developed during the chemotherapy in all 14 patients. High fever above 38.5℃ developed with the appearance of vesicles in 12 out of 14 patients. This was the second attack of varicella in 2 patients. High fever subsided within 3 days and vesicles were changed into crusted lesions within 1 week of acyclovir therpay in all patients. There seemed to be no difference in the effects according to the doses of acyclovir. There was no evidence of laboratory side effects during or after acyclovir treatment.
Conclusion : Small dose of acyclovir, 5 mg/kg tid for 7 days intravenously, was considered to be effective in the treatment of varicella in children with malignancy, if administered within the 24 hours after onset of skin lesions, and if no serious complications of varicella were accompanied. No side effects of acyclovir were observed.
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Keywords : Acyclovir, Efficacy, Varicella, Malignancy |
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