![Acyclovir Capsule Acyclovir Tablet [Physicians Total Care, Inc.] Acyclovir Capsule Acyclovir Tablet [Physicians Total Care, Inc.]](/wp-content/themes/bootstrap/assets/img/loading2.gif) 
                                           		
                                                 
  
   
    
   
   
    
    
   Acute Treatment of Herpes Zoster 
   
800 mg every 4 hours orally, 5 times daily for 7 to 10 days.
 
   
   
   
    
    
   Genital Herpes 
    
    
     
     
    Treatment of Initial Genital Herpes 
    
200 mg every 4 hours, 5 times daily for 10 days.
 
    
    
    
     
     
    Chronic Suppressive Therapy for Recurrent Disease 
    
400 mg 2 times daily for up to 12 months, followed by reevaluation. Alternative regimens have included doses ranging from 200 mg 3 times daily to 200 mg 5 times daily.
 
    The frequency and severity of episodes of untreated genital herpes may change over time. After one year of therapy, the frequency and severity of the patient’s genital herpes infection should be reevaluated to assess the need for continuation of therapy with acyclovir.
 
    
    
    
     
     
    Intermittent Therapy 
    
200 mg every 4 hours, 5 times daily for 5 days. Therapy should be initiated at the earliest sign or symptom (prodrome) of recurrence.
 
    
   
   
   
    
    
   Treatment of Chickenpox 
    
    
     
     
    Children (2 Years of Age and Older) 
    
20 mg/kg per dose orally 4 times daily (80 mg/kg/day) for 5 days. Children over 40 kg should receive the adult dose for chickenpox.
 
    
    
    
     
     
    Adults and Children Over 40 kg 
    
800 mg 4 times daily for 5 days.
 
    Intravenous acyclovir is indicated for the treatment of varicella-zoster infections in immunocompromised patients.
 
    When therapy is indicated, it should be initiated at the earliest sign or symptom of chickenpox. There is no information about the efficacy of therapy initiated more than 24 hours after onset of signs and symptoms.
 
    
   
   
   
    
    
   Patients with Acute or Chronic Renal Impairment 
   
In patients with renal impairment, the dose of acyclovir capsules and tablets should be modified as shown in Table 3:
 
    
   
     
      Table 3: Dosage Modification for Renal Impairment 
      
     Normal Dosage
Regimen
       Creatinine
Clearance
(mL/min/1.73m2 )
       Adjusted Dosage Regimen 
      Dose (mg)
       Dosing Interval 
      200 mg every
4 hours
       > 10
0 to 10
       200
200
       every 4 hours, 5x daily
every 12 hours 
      400 mg every
12 hours
       > 10
0 to 10
       400
200
       every 12 hours
every 12 hours 
      800 mg every
4 hours
       > 25
10 to 25
0 to 10
       800
800
800
       every 4 hours, 5x daily
every 8 hours
every 12 hours 
       
   
   
   
    
    
   Hemodialysis 
   
For patients who require hemodialysis, the mean plasma half-life of acyclovir during hemodialysis is approximately 5 hours. This results in a 60% decrease in plasma concentrations following a 6 hour dialysis period. Therefore, the patient’s dosing schedule should be adjusted so that an additional dose is administered after each dialysis.
 
   
   
   
    
    
   Peritoneal Dialysis 
   
No supplemental dose appears to be necessary after adjustment of the dosing interval.
 
   
   
   
    
    
   Bioequivalence of Dosage Forms 
   
Acyclovir suspension was shown to be bioequivalent to acyclovir capsules (n = 20) and one acyclovir 800 mg tablet was shown to be bioequivalent to four 200 mg capsules (n = 24).