Why the study?
Does oral acyclovir improve outcomes in children with severe hand, foot and mouth disease?
Does oral acyclovir improve outcomes in children with severe hand, foot and mouth disease?
Oral acyclovir may be a beneficial treatment option for severe cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in children.
Acyclovir may warrant consideration in severe pediatric HFMD; leaves open need for RCTs to confirm benefit.
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), an acute viral illness caused by coxsackieviruses or enteroviruses, is predominantly encountered in children under 10 years of age. Although it is usually self-resolving, there are a few rare cases which have an extremely aggressive clinical presentation and need to be treated on a priority. Many affected children present with florid or unusual lesions; are highly febrile, with high irritability or listlessness; and also refuse to eat. Such cases could be considered as severe ones. With no specific effective antiviral available to tackle HFMD cases, acyclovir may be used in severe cases for its antiviral effect. We describe three such cases of HFMD in children, treated with oral acyclovir, with gratifying results.
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DhananjayK Damle (2018) studied this question.
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