Conditions: Herpes Simplex
Keywords: Herpes Simplex, Acyclovir, Infants
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 29
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to test whether long-term treatment with oral acyclovir improves the outcome for infants with herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease of the skin, eyes, and mouth (SEM). Study participants will include infants in the United States and Canada who have HSV disease of the skin, eyes, and mouth, with no central nervous system disease present. Initially, all subjects will be treated with acyclovir administered through IV access (through the vein) for 14 days while hospitalized. Participants will then be placed in one of two groups, acyclovir given by mouth or a placebo (substance with no medication present). The participant and the study site will not know to which group the subject is assigned. All children will be followed at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months of age. During the follow up visits, physicals, hearing assessments, eye assessments, and neurological assessments will be completed.

Detailed description:
Neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease complicates approximately one in every 3,000 births in the United States. This study will be a placebo-controlled Phase III evaluation of suppressive therapy with oral Acyclovir suspension following neonatal HSV infections limited to the skin, eyes, and mouth (SEM). This study will evaluate the efficacy of long-term suppressive therapy with oral acyclovir in infants with SEM disease. It will determine if suppressive oral acyclovir therapy improves neurological outcome in infants following SEM disease. Only infants with SEM disease will qualify for this study. After qualifying for the study and obtaining informed consent, the infant will complete 14 days of intravenous (IV) Acyclovir (20 mg/kg/dose given every 8 hours). Patients will be randomized to receive suppressive oral Acyclovir versus placebo only if they continue to meet all study inclusion criteria at the completion of the IV therapy. This study will be double-blinded and placebo controlled. At the time of randomization, the patient will be placed in 1 of 2 groups (oral suppressive Acyclovir versus placebo). If a patient in either group has a cutaneous HSV recurrence, open-label oral Acyclovir (80 mg/kg/day divided into 4 doses per day) will be provided for 5 days. During the time of administration of open-label oral Acyclovir, study drug will be withheld. All children will be followed at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months of age. Physical examination, hearing assessment, and retinal examination will be performed at each follow up visit. Standardized neurologic evaluation will be performed at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months of age.

Arms:
arm 1: None arm 2: None

Interventions: intervention 1: Acyclovir intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Oral suspension 300 mg/m\^2/dose, 3 times per day (TID), for 6 months. intervention 2: Placebo identical to oral acyclovir suspension in appearance and taste.

Protocol document: