[A clinical study of genital herpes and the clinical efficacy of acyclovir tablets]

A clinical study for genital herpes was conducted on 154 patients and the efficacy of treatment with oral acyclovir was investigated in 51 of these patients. The diagnosis was confirmed by direct immunofluorescence or viral isolation from the lesion. This disease has increased in both males and females in recent years and was found in 2.3-2.9% of the out-patients examined in 1986. Seventy percent of the patients were between 20 and 30 years old. About 70% of the male patients had phimosis. In patients with the first infection, bilateral eruption (62%) and lymphadenopathy (54%) were more common than unilateral lesions. However, in those with recurrent infection, unilateral eruption (72%) and lymphadenopathy (52%) were more common. Sixty two percent of those with the first infection had scattered eruption on external genitalia, but 71% with recurrent infection, had lesions concentrated in several areas. Local symptoms such as pain in the external genitalia (male: female, 16%: 85%), pain in the lower extremities (26%: 45%), discomfort in the lower extremities (20%: 41%) and systemic symptoms such as malaise (22%: 48%) and anorexia (4%: 35%) were seen more frequently in females than in males. In addition, systemic symptoms such as fever (first episode: recurrent episode, 36%: 4%), malaise (34%: 9%) and anorexia (18%: 2%) were seen more frequently in patients with the first episode than in those with recurrence. HSV type 1 infections were found in 16% of males and 28% of females with the first episode, but were less common in the recurrent episode, 0% and 13%, respectively. Direct immunofluorescence was positive in 75 (59%) of 128 samples diagnosed by viral isolation. Treatment with oral acyclovir tablets, 200 mg five times daily, was very effective in 26 of 30 patients (87%). No side effects were observed. In this study, acyclovir tablet has been shown to be a very effective and well-tolerated treatment for genital herpes infections.