Acyclovir treatment of herpes zoster infections. Use in children undergoing bone marrow transplantation

F. T. Serota, S. E. Starr, C. K. Bryan, P. A. Koch, S. A. Plotkin and C. S. August

Three patients in whom herpes zoster infections developed following bone marrow transplantation were treated with acyclovir. The patients experienced pain relief within 24 hours of starting treatment. The progression of their skin lesions halted within 1, 2, and 4 days of therapy, respectively, and healed completely within two weeks of therapy. Pharmacokinetic studies indicated that acyclovir plasma concentration-time profiles approximated biexponential equations. The drug half-lives were 3.91, 3.83, and 3.40 hours, respectively. Acyclovir was not myelotoxic and may be helpful in aborting varicella-zoster virus infections in bone marrow transplant recipients.