Effectiveness and safety of oral acyclovir 1 g twice a day for 3 days in the management of genital herpes

CONTEXT: Acyclovir is the most commonly used drug in genital herpes; however, with existing acyclovir regimens, the drug needs to be taken five times a day which is inconvenient for patients. AIMS: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral acyclovir 1 g twice a day for 3 days in genital herpes. METHODS: The patients of genital herpes were treated with oral acyclovir 1 g twice a day for 3 days and followed up after day 3, 5, 7, and 10 to determine the response to therapy. The response was assessed by physicians' assessment of percentage healing of the ulcer and mean healing time as well as patients' assessment of improvement in the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). RESULTS: Twenty-three patients of genital herpes were recruited of which 21 (91.3%) had recurrent episodes, whereas 2 (8.7%) patients had first episode. One patient was lost to follow-up and 22 were analyzed. Complete healing of ulcer was seen in 9 (40.9%), 17 (77.27%) and 20 (90.90%) patients after day 3, 5 and 7 following the treatment respectively, with a mean healing time of 4.91 ± 2.16 days. The mean healing time of recurrent disease was 4.67 ± 1.87 days. Complete improvement in VAS was seen in 9 (40.9%), 21 (95.45%) and 22 (100%) patients after day 3, 5 and 7 following the treatment respectively, with a mean time for complete improvement being 4.27 ± 1.16 days. There were no significant side effects of therapy. CONCLUSION: Acyclovir 1 g twice a day for 3 days is an effective treatment for genital herpes with advantages of comparable healing time and convenient dosage schedule.