Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20085679›Full record

Trial reportJournal of obstetrics and gynaecology Canada : JOGC = Journal d'obstetrique et gynecologie du Canada : JOGC2009

Inadequacy of plasma acyclovir levels at delivery in patients with genital herpes receiving oral acyclovir suppressive therapy in late pregnancy.

Daniel T Leung, Paul A Henning, Emily C Wagner, Audrey Blasig, Anna Wald, Stephen L Sacks, Lawrence Corey, Deborah M Money

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology Canada : JOGC = Journal d'obstetrique et gynecologie du Canada : JOGC, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 81% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Daniel T LeungDepartment of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Paul A Henning
Emily C Wagner
Audrey Blasig
Anna Wald
Stephen L Sacks
Lawrence Corey
Deborah M Money
Women's Health Research Institute · CAUniversity of British Columbia · CAInfectious Disease Research Institute · USUniversity of Washington · US

Funding

THE PERINATAL COMPLICATIONS OF ASYMPTOMATIC GENITAL HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUSP01AI030731 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI JOHNSTON, CHRISTINE MICHELLE · 1991 to 2017
$34.3M
NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI030731NIAID NIH HHS P01-AI30731
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAcyclovir therapy in late pregnancy among women with recurrent genital herpes is effective in decreasing genital lesion frequency and subclinical viral shedding rates at delivery, thereby decreasing the need for Caesarean section. Despite good adherence and increased dosing schedules, breakthrough lesions and viral shedding are still observed in some women at or near delivery. Anecdotal evidence suggests that low levels of herpes simplex virus replication at delivery may result in transmission to the neonate. Therefore, defining optimal acyclovir dosing during labour and delivery is warranted. Our objectives were to determine actual maternal and fetal acyclovir levels at delivery, and explore associations between acyclovir levels, duration of labour, and time since last acyclovir dose.

methodsTwenty-seven patients were prescribed oral acyclovir 400 mg three times daily from 36 weeks' gestation. Cord blood (venous and arterial) and maternal venous blood samples were collected at delivery, and acyclovir levels measured using capillary electrophoresis. Correlations between duration of labour, and time since last acyclovir dose with acyclovir blood levels were calculated.

resultsAcyclovir levels were below the published mean steady-state trough value (180 ng/mL) in 52% of venous cord samples, 55% of arterial cord samples, and 36% of maternal samples. There was a significant inverse correlation between the time since last dose and venous cord levels (rs19 = -0.57, P < 0.015), arterial cord levels (rs16 = -0.63, P < 0.01), and maternal acyclovir levels (r10 = -0.69, P < 0.03).

conclusionOral dosing of acyclovir in women in late pregnancy may result in insufficient levels at delivery to prevent viral shedding. Alternative approaches that incorporate acyclovir dosing through labour, either through oral or intravenous administration, should be evaluated to assess effects on viral shedding.

Indexed as

AcyclovirAdministration, OralAdultAntiviral AgentsCohort StudiesDelivery, ObstetricDose-Response Relationship, DrugFemaleFetal BloodHerpes GenitalisHumansInfant, NewbornInfectious Disease Transmission, VerticalLabor, ObstetricPregnancyPregnancy Complications, InfectiousAcyclovirAntiviral Agents

Identifiers

PMID20085679
PMCPMC2809929
OpenAlexW2129439062

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.