Acyclovir versus valacyclovir for herpes virus in children and pregnant women: a review of the clinical evidence and guidelines
CADTH
Record ID 32015000159
English
Authors' recommendations:
In the last five years there has been very limited new evidence on the effectiveness of oral antivirals in children with chickenpox, pregnant women with herpes simplex virus, pregnant women with herpes zoster, or pregnant women with chickenpox.In children with chickenpox acyclovir was shown to be effective, although clinical significance in otherwise healthy children is questionable. No evidence on the comparative effectiveness of valacyclovir in this population was identified.There is RCT data supporting efficacy of both acyclovir and valacyclovir in pregnancy for suppression of recurrent genital herpes.Although available data are reassuring as to the safety of valacyclovir in pregnancy, there is substantially more experience with acyclovir.Recent practice guidelines for the treatment of both chickenpox and genital herpes in pregnancy consistently recommend acyclovir for certain clinical scenarios. Many of these guidelines also present valacyclovir as an option.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2014
URL for published report:
http://www.cadth.ca/media/pdf/htis/sep-2014/RC0586%20Acyclovir%20and%20Valacyclovir%20Final.pdf
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Herpes Genitalis
- Acyclovir
- Valine
- Antiviral Agents
- Herpesvirus 2, Human
- Adult
- Female
- Child
- Pregnancy
- Guidelines as Topic
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
- Treatment Outcome
- Canada
Contact
Organisation Name:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Contact Address:
600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name:
requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email:
requests@cadth.ca
Copyright:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.