Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0184567 (acute pain)
 3,962 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised study was undertaken to compare the efficacy and tolerability of famciclovir administered at 250 mg, 500 mg and 750 mg three times daily with acyclovir 800 mg five times daily for the treatment of acute uncomplicated herpes zoster in immunocompetent adults. A total of 545 patients participated in this trial. Treatment was initiated within 72 h of the onset of the zoster rash and was continued for seven days. When treatment was initiated within 72 h, famciclovir was found to be as effective as acyclovir at all dose levels for cutaneous lesion healing as demonstrated by the median times to full crusting, cessation of new lesion formation, loss of vesicles and loss of crusts; time to loss of acute pain was comparable in patients receiving famciclovir and acyclovir. Time to resolution of zoster-associated pain, however, occured at a significantly faster rate in patients treated with famciclovir within 48 h of rash onset compared with acyclovir treatment. Famciclovir was well tolerated with a safety profile comparable to that of acyclovir. Gastrointestinal disturbances and headache were the most common adverse experiences in all treatment groups. In conclusion, famciclovir, administered less frequently and at lower unit doses than acyclovir, is an effective treatment for patients with uncomplicated herpes zoster.
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PMID:Famciclovir, a new oral antiherpes drug: results of the first controlled clinical study demonstrating its efficacy and safety in the treatment of uncomplicated herpes zoster in immunocompetent patients. 1861 15

Famciclovir is a guanine analog antiviral drug used commonly for herpes zoster. Efficacy of famciclovir treatment has been reported to be comparable to valacyclovir treatment. Both of these medications reduce the time to complete cessation of zoster-associated pain including post-herpetic neuralgia, as compared to acyclovir. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, open clinical trial in order to evaluate the extent of pain relief afforded by these two antiviral drugs during the acute disease phase of herpes zoster. The study group comprised 86 immunocompetent adult patients suffering from herpes zoster, who were treated with either famciclovir or valacyclovir for 7 days. Of these, 55 patients enrolled in this study within 72 h of the onset of the rash and 31 patients after 72 h of the onset. There was a significant reduction in acute herpes zoster pain with famciclovir on day 7 and at 2-3 weeks in both of these patient groups, while with valacyclovir, there was not significant reduction in pain on day 7. Of patients aged 50 years or older, there was a significantly earlier reduction in pain with famciclovir than with valacyclovir. In addition, a significant reduction in the number of patients with pain was observed as early as days 3-4 with famciclovir treatment as compared with valacyclovir treatment. We conclude that famciclovir was superior to valacyclovir in the relief of acute pain of herpes zoster. Accordingly, famciclovir is recommended for herpes zoster patients with moderate symptoms and a visual analog scale score of under 50 mm.
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PMID:Comparison between famciclovir and valacyclovir for acute pain in adult Japanese immunocompetent patients with herpes zoster. 2267 Aug 95