Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (Aug 2015)

Efficacy of Topical 5% Acyclovir-1% Hydrocortisone Cream (ME-609) for Treatment of Herpes Labialis: a systematic review

  • MARIA INÊS DA ROSA,
  • SUÉLI L. SOUZA,
  • BRUNA F. DE FARIAS,
  • PATRÍCIA D.S. PIRES,
  • EDUARDO R. DONDOSSOLA,
  • MARIA EDUARDA F. DOS REIS

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201520140701
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 87, no. 2 suppl
pp. 1415 – 1420

Abstract

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We performed a systematic review with the objective of verifying the efficacy of topical use 5% Acyclovir-1% Hydrocortisone cream compared to the placebo group for herpes simplex labialis treatment. We performed a literature search using MEDLINE, Embase, BIOSIS, LILACS, Scopus, Grey literature, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the ISI Web of Science and IBECS from 1990 to June 2014. We reported the outcomes using relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals. The literature search yielded 180 potentially relevant publications. Reviews of the reference lists yielded two further citations. Among these papers, two were considered eligible for inclusion in this review. Both trials included 1,213 patients. A meta-analysis of these studies showed a RR = 0.77, (95% CI 0.70-0.86; p<0.001).This result suggests that an early episodic treatment with the combination of an antiviral and a steroid is beneficial for herpes simplex labialis treatment.

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