Successful foscarnet therapy for mucocutaneous infection with herpes simplex virus in a recipient after unrelated bone marrow transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplant. 1996 Dec;18(6):1185-8.

Abstract

A 36-year-old Japanese man who received an unrelated bone marrow transplant (BMT) developed severe mucocutaneous infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 during oral acyclovir prophylaxis. The lesions progressed despite treatment with intravenous acyclovir and vidarabine. The HSV isolates were sensitive acyclovir, vidarabine and foscarnet in vitro, but peripheral CD3- or CD19-positive cells were barely detectable even 4 months after transplant. A 12-day course of treatment with foscarnet led to a rapid improvement. Foscarnet therapy should be considered for all severe HSV infections following BMT, regardless of whether or not the HSV isolates are sensitive to acyclovir.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acyclovir / pharmacology
  • Acyclovir / therapeutic use
  • Adult
  • Antiviral Agents / pharmacology
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Bone Marrow Transplantation*
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial
  • Foscarnet / pharmacology
  • Foscarnet / therapeutic use*
  • Herpes Labialis / chemically induced
  • Herpes Labialis / drug therapy
  • Herpes Labialis / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Accelerated Phase / therapy
  • Male
  • Neutropenia / chemically induced
  • Neutropenia / complications
  • Simplexvirus / drug effects
  • Simplexvirus / isolation & purification
  • Stomatitis, Herpetic / drug therapy
  • Stomatitis, Herpetic / etiology*
  • Stomatitis, Herpetic / virology
  • Transplantation Conditioning / adverse effects
  • Transplantation, Homologous
  • Vidarabine / pharmacology
  • Vidarabine / therapeutic use
  • Whole-Body Irradiation / adverse effects

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Foscarnet
  • Vidarabine
  • Acyclovir