The clinical management of recurrent genital herpes: current issues and future prospects

This article reports the proceedings of an expert panel discussion on current clinical management practices for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes. The panel reviewed the effectiveness of primary and specialist care settings in the UK and USA and identified the principal clinical needs of patients with recurrent genital herpes. The ideal alternative to daily suppressive nucleoside analogue therapy is a treatment with long-term impact on the natural history and prognosis of recurrent genital herpes. The potential of resiquimod, an immune response modifier, to resolve this unmet need was examined. Resiquimod is reported to delay the onset of recurrent genital herpes symptoms in patients in a Phase II clinical trial. While awaiting clinical confirmation of this new development in immunotherapy, the panel concluded with two recommendations: a reassessment of recurrent genital herpes management in terms of physician education of patients, and the promotion of a positive patient-physician relationship in the approach to treatment.