The use of acyclovir in children.

Acyclovir represents a significant advance in the treatment of herpes simplex and varicella zoster virus infections and appears to be safe and well-tolerated. Physicians now have several drugs to choose from in the treatment of these infections. Hopefully there will be other antiviral chemotherapeutic agents that will be effective for therapy of cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus infections. Coincident with the development of antivirals, continued progress in the area of rapid viral diagnosis is critical for early institution of therapy. Direct diagnosis of HSV or VZV from clinical specimens or lesions using monoclonal antibodies, enzyme-linked immunoassays or DNA probes are promising techniques for the future. Investigation into improved rapid diagnosis for neonatal and maternal HSV infections and HSV encephalitis should further improve outcome with antiviral therapy.