Intravenous acyclovir for herpesvirus in immunocompromised patients

Severe herpesvirus infections in 18 immunocompromised patients (25 episodes) were treated with i.v. acyclovir. Six patients had 13 episodes of mucocutaneous herpes simplex infections, eight children had varicella, three patients had generalized zoster, and one patient had cytomegalovirus pneumonia. No patient died from infections. In 18 episodes treatment with acyclovir produced a beneficial effect, in 5 episodes acyclovir was probably beneficial, and in 2 patients the effect could not be evaluated. No serious side effects could be definitely attributed to acyclovir administration. These data support the previous experience that i.v. acyclovir may be useful in the treatment of herpesvirus infections in immunocompromised patients.