Treatment of Herpes Simplex Keratitis With 5 Iodo 2' Deoxyuridine

and Corrigan, Gilkes, and Roberts (1962) reported that 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (I.D.U.) was uniformly of out- standing value in the treatment of experimental and clinical herpes simplex keratitis, although Davidson (1962) reported a poor response in seven of 22 cases treated with this compound. It is generally agreed that, after treatment with I.D.U., the epithelial ulcer heals rapidly but the stromal lesion is probably not affected. In these reports the diagnosis was made on clinical grounds not confirmed by virus culture; controls were not used. The clinical appear- ance of keratitis due to herpes simplex virus is characteristic so that confirma- tion by virus culture was probably considered unnecessary.