Oral XXXX for acute herpes zoster infections in immune-competent adults.

@entity1033 @entity1 @entity1910 @entity75 @entity4091 @entity177 @entity158 @entity12761
Previous studies have shown that intravenous @entity1033 does modify @entity1910 development, reduce @entity12761 . To assess the clinical efficacy of an oral dosage regimen with 800 mg @entity1033 five times daily, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies were carried out at three centres within the U.K., using a common protocol. According to inclusion criteria (immune competent @entity1 over 60 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of @entity4091 with @entity1910 of no more than 72 h duration, no previous systemic antiviral treatment, no history of @entity177 ) 205 @entity1 were recruited after they had given their informed consent. @entity1 were randomly assigned to receive either two 400 mg tablets @entity1033 (41 @entity1 , 59 @entity1 ) or matching placebo (46 @entity1 , 59 @entity1 ) five times daily for seven days. Treatment was predominantly domiciliary based. According to clinical assessment and @entity158 score @entity1033 recipients showed a significant benefit in terms of reduction in @entity1910 progression if treatment was started within 48 h of the onset of @entity1910 , and alleviation of @entity158 during the acute phase of @entity4091 . Overall, the number of @entity1 developing @entity75 was significantly lower in the @entity1033 group than in the placebo group (p = 0.02). However, there were no significant differences in @entity1910 progression and @entity158 response in @entity1 with @entity4091 affecting the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve in @entity1 who received @entity1033 (n = 21) compared to those who received placebo (n = 32). 12 @entity1033 and 13 placebo recipients reported symptoms, predominantly gastrointestinal in nature, possibly or probably related to therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
