Altering clinical features of recurrent herpes simplex virus-induced keratitis

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Virology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Herpes simplex virus-induced keratitis (HSK) is a significant cause of corneal blindness.
• The introduction of acyclovir (ACV) in 1986 aimed to improve HSK management.
• Understanding the long-term impact of ACV on HSK clinical features and recurrence is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate alterations in HSK clinical features following the introduction of acyclovir (ACV).
• To evaluate the recurrence rates of HSK before and after ACV implementation.
• To assess the effectiveness of ACV compared to idoxuridine in managing HSK.

Main Methods:

• A nine-year retrospective study of 101 clinically diagnosed HSK patients.
• Analysis of HSK clinical types and recurrence frequencies before (pre-1985) and after (post-1986) ACV introduction.
• Comparison of five-year recurrence rates between ACV-treated and idoxuridine-treated primary HSK patients.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in primary HSK clinical type distribution was observed before and after 1986.
• Recurrent HSK was most frequent in patients aged 26-40 years (75.0%).
• While ACV showed lower five-year recurrence rates than idoxuridine for primary HSK, overall recurrence frequency remained similar before and after 1986.

Conclusions:

• The decreased recurrence rate in ACV-treated primary HSK patients was noted.
• However, the persistent high recurrence frequency in patients with recurrent HSK after ACV introduction suggests an incomplete inhibitory effect of the drug.
• Further research into optimizing antiviral strategies for HSK is warranted.