Prevalence of resistance in patients receiving ganciclovir for serious cytomegalovirus infection

Article Abstract:

Resistance to the antiviral drug ganciclovir has been reported in a small number of AIDS patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. Drug resistance was based on the patients' clinical responses to therapy. Ganciclovir has been used to treat more than 10,000 patients with CMV infections. A prospective study of 72 patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis (that is, infection of the retina due to CMV) was conducted to assess the prevalence of ganciclovir resistance. All of the patients tested positive for CMV in baseline urine cultures. In pretreatment studies, no ganciclovir-resistant strains were isolated from 31 randomly selected cases. However, ganciclovir-resistant strains of CMV were found in approximately 8 percent of the patients who received treatment for three or more months. Patients with AIDS who receive ganciclovir for CMV infections and experience persistent or advancing CMV disease should be reevaluated; alternative drug therapy should be considered. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Management, Drug resistance in microorganisms, Microbial drug resistance, Ganciclovir, Cytomegaloviruses, Cytomegalovirus

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Intravenous cidofovir for peripheral cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with AIDS: a randomized, controlled trial

Article Abstract:

Cidofovir appears to be effective in delaying eye complications seen in patients with AIDS and untreated cytomegalovirus (CMV) associated retinitis. Forty-eight patients with CMV-associated retinitis were treated with cidofovir either immediately or after the disease had progressed. Immediate treatment with cidofovir delayed the progression of retinitis from 22 days to 120 days. Side effects included low white blood cell count and increased protein levels in the urine.

Retinal diseases, Antiviral agents

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