PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kinghorn, G R
AU  - Abeywickreme, I
AU  - Jeavons, M
AU  - Rowland, M
AU  - Barton, I
AU  - Al-Hasani, G
AU  - Potter, C W
AU  - Hickmott, E
TI  - Efficacy of oral treatment with acyclovir and co-trimoxazole in first episode genital herpes.
AID  - 10.1136/sti.62.1.33
DP  - 1986 Feb 01
TA  - Genitourinary Medicine
PG  - 33--37
VI  - 62
IP  - 1
4099  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/62/1/33.short
4100  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/62/1/33.full
SO  - Genitourin Med1986 Feb 01; 62
AB  - Forty patients presenting with first episode genital herpes were randomly allocated to seven day treatment with oral acyclovir alone, placebo alone, oral acyclovir plus co-trimoxazole, or placebo plus co-trimoxazole. Patients receiving acyclovir had significantly shorter periods of viral shedding (p less than 0.001), pain (p = 0.03), and times to lesion healing (p less than 0.05). Averaged over all patients there was no evidence that co-trimoxazole affected any of the variables, though in women cotrimoxazole was associated with a shorter time to lesion healing (p less than 0.01). Furthermore, the combination treatment gave significantly shorter times to lesion healing than acyclovir alone, placebo alone, or placebo and co-trimoxazole (p = 0.01) and good trends elsewhere (external lesions and duration of pain). Neither drug was associated with any adverse events or toxicity or influenced the subsequent recurrence rate.