Common antiviral agents used in women's and children's care, part 1

Antiviral medications interfere with one or more of the six parts of the viral reproductive cycle. The five mechanisms of action of antiviral agents are used to group pharmaceuticals into categories: uncoating inhibitors, nucleic acid synthesis inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors. The pharmacokinetics and nursing implications of specific uncoating inhibitors for respiratory viruses and nucleic acid synthesis inhibitors for respiratory syncytial virus, herpes simplex, and varicella zoster viruses are described in detail.