Cytarabine treatment of herpes simplex encephalitis in infants and small children. A report on three cases with a short review of the literature.

Three cytarabine-treated infants and children with herpes simplex encephalitis are presented. The effect of the treatment was excellent in 2 cases. One boy who had a CP syndrome died. It is assumed that the treatment with cytarabine should be started as early as possible with a dosage of 3 mg/kg body weight given intravenously once a day in a single injection for 5 days. No serious side effects have been noted. The advantage of cytarabine over idoxuridine, especially when treating small children and herpetic infections in the central nervous system, are emphasized.