Acyclovir (Zovirax) in herpetic disciform keratitis

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Virology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Disciform keratitis is a significant cause of vision impairment.
• Current treatments for disciform keratitis have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a combination therapy for disciform keratitis.
• To compare acyclovir and betamethasone combination drops with acyclovir alone.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, double-blind study was conducted.
• Forty patients with disciform keratitis were enrolled.
• Treatments included acyclovir/betamethasone drops or acyclovir/placebo drops.

Main Results:

• The combination therapy group achieved healing in a median of 21 days.
• Acyclovir alone resulted in withdrawal of 11/19 patients due to lack of improvement (p < 0.001).
• Combination therapy showed a faster healing rate (p = 0.004) and better clinical parameter improvement.

Conclusions:

• A combination of acyclovir and dilute steroid drops is effective for managing disciform keratitis.
• This combination therapy offers a superior treatment option compared to acyclovir monotherapy.
• The treatment demonstrated a favorable safety profile with no serious adverse effects observed.