Abstract

Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of valaciclovir (VACV) versus acyclovir (ACV) for the treatment of herpes zoster with Meta-analysis. Methods Databases including the Cochrane library, PubMed, Embase, Medline, SCI, CNKI, Wanfang Data, CBM were searched to collect the randomized controlled trails (RCTs) regarding VACV versus ACV for herpes zoster. The retrieval time was from early available time to May 2016. The search was followed the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were collected and evaluated by 2 reviewers independently. The Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. Results 13 RCTs involving 1 109 patients were included. The results of Meta-analysis showed that there were significant difference in efficacy, pain relief time, herpes stop time, scab time and PHN between the VACV and ACV groups. Subgroups analysis showed there were no significant difference in efficacy, herpes stop time, scab time between the oral VACV and intravenous ACV subgroups. Conclusion Oral VACV is superior to oral ACV in the treatment of herpes zoster. However there were no differences in herpes stop time, scab time between oral VACV group and intravenous ACV group. Key words: Herpes zoster; Valaciclovir; Aciclovir; Meta-analysis

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