Acyclovir therapy
for genital herpes
to prevent cesarean delivery
Canadian Medical Association Journal 1996; 155: 200-201
Source: Scott LL, Sanchez PJ, Jackson GL et al: Acyclovir suppression to prevent cesarean delivery after first-episode genital herpes. Obstet Gynecol 1996; 87: 69-73
To determine whether viral suppression therapy in pregnant women could prevent the recurrence of genital herpes and thereby reduce the need for cesarean delivery, researchers in Texas randomly assigned 46 pregnant women with first-episode genital herpes to treatment with either acyclovir (400 mg three times daily) or a placebo, beginning at 36 weeks' gestation and continuing until labour. At delivery none of the 21 women in the treatment group and 9 (36%) of the 25 in the placebo group had clinical evidence of herpes (p = 0.002); the 9 women with a recurrence had cesarean deliveries. Four women in the treatment group and one woman in the placebo group had cesarean deliveries for indications other than herpes. There was no evidence of asymptomatic viral shedding at delivery in either group. None of the infants had evidence of herpes infection or of adverse effects from the acyclovir therapy in the first 72 hours after birth.
| CMAJ July 15, 1996 (vol 155, no 2) |
International digest |