Herpes Virus Infection
Conditions
Keywords
Eczema herpeticum, pediatric burns, Acyclovir, Prophylaxis
Brief summary
Introduction: Early detection is important in treating patients with Eczema Herpeticum (EH), which may arise in paediatric burn patients. As soon as a clinical diagnosis is confirmed, antiviral medications should be started to ensure an early resolution of the disease. Several studies have indicated that acyclovir is the best treatment for EH lesions in the majority of individuals. Objective: Compare efficacy of the prophylactic acyclovir and placebo in preventing eczema Herpeticum in paediatric burn patients
Detailed description
Materials and Methods Study design: Randomised control trial. Setting: Pediatric burn unit Mayo hospital Lahore Duration: 1st October 2019 to 30th September 2020. Data collection procedure: All the patients were managed with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, antipyretics and hydrocolloid dressing as per ward routine management protocol along with prophylactic acyclovir and placebo. On the zero day of admission, after parents provided informed consent, patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups using a computer-generated table. Group A patients were given intra venous acyclovir divided into three doses for 7 to 14 days during their stay. Group B patients were given 15% intravenous Hypertonic sodium chloride divided into three doses as placebo for 7 to 14 days, so that parents could be blinded to group allocation. Patients were observed for developing signs of eczema Herpeticum and Tzanck smear was done every 10th day and first follow up at outpatient department after 7days of discharge.
Interventions
DRUGIntravenous Acyclovir
Patients were observed for developing signs of eczema herpeticum and Tzanck smear was done every 10th day and first follow up at OPD after 7days of discharge following ward management protocol. If prophylactic acyclovir was efficacious then no eczema herpeticum developed. Patients who develop eczema herpeticum were isolated and were treated with injection acyclovir 15 to 30 mg/kg/day into three divided doses for 10 to 14 days.
Sponsors
King Edward Medical University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
parents were blinded to group allocation
Intervention model description
Sample size of 64 patients (32 patients in each group) was estimated by using 5% level of significance, 90% power of test with expected percentage of patients given prophylactic acyclovir as 81.3% and patients given placebo as 42.9%.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Months to 13 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* age 1 month to ≤ 13 years .10 to 60 percent total body surface area (TBSA) burn. * 2nd and 3rd degree burn
Exclusion criteria
* Patients having previous history of skin disease. * Patients having any Comorbidity e.g. Psoriasis, asthma, atopic dermatitis and conjunctivitis. * Immunocompromised patients. * Patients on steroids or chemotherapy. * Patients already having eczema Herpeticum and positive baseline Tzanck smear
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants with positive Tzanck smear | 1 year | Prophylactic acyclovir was compared with placebo regarding preventing eczema herpeticum prophylactically |
Countries
Pakistan
Outcome results
None listed