Drug combinations for treatment of mice infected with acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether acyclovir resistance in mice infected with herpes simplex virus could be overcome by using high doses of acyclovir or vidarabine alone or by using a combination of the two drugs. The results indicate that the mice infected intracerebrally were refractory to acyclovir alone but responded to vidarabine or a combination of vidarabine and acyclovir. These observations have major implications for the clinical management of severe herpetic infections, particularly if attempts are to be made to devise means of circumventing drug resistance.