Treatment with brivudine in immunocompromised pediatric patients with herpes zoster.

INTRODUCTION: Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by endogenous reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) that persists in sensory ganglia after primary infection. The incidence and severity of HZ increase during immunosuppression. Especially immunocompromised patients are at high risk of developing a cutaneous rash and suffering from delayed healing of lesions. Bromovinyl deoxyuridine (brivudine), one of the most potent oral inhibitors of VZV replication, is widely used in the therapy of HZ in adult patients, particularly in Europe. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of brivudine in immunocompromised children to provide an outpatient treatment option.

METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included 64 immunocompromised pediatric patients with a median age of 14 years. Forty-seven patients received immunosuppressive therapy as part of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and 17 patients as part of chemotherapy. Primary diagnosis was made clinically by examining the nature and the localization of the skin lesions. Laboratory confirmation was conducted based on the detection of VZV DNA in vesicle fluid and blood samples. Brivudine was administered orally at a single dose of 2 mg/kg per day. We monitored the patients' response for the full time of treatment and observed the time of full crusting of lesions, loss of crusts, and any adverse effects that occurred.

RESULTS: Patients received medication for 7-21 days (median: 14 days). All children responded promptly to antiviral treatment and recovered completely from their HZ infections without complications. Crusting of lesions was reached after 3-14 days (median: 6 days). Full healing of skin lesions was ascertained within 7-21 days (median: 12 days). Overall, brivudine therapy was well tolerated. No clinical side effects during or after the treatment were observed. High compliance was achieved due to the once-daily dosing regimen. All patients were treated in an outpatient manner.

CONCLUSION: Oral brivudine was a very effective and well-tolerated therapy in immunocompromised children with HZ infection. The oral administration offers the potential for outpatient treatment of HZ in these patients.