POSTHERPETIC NEURALGIA - IMPACT OF FAMCICLOVIR, AGE, RASH SEVERITY, AND ACUTE PAIN IN HERPES-ZOSTER PATIENTS

New and previously reported analyses of the data from a placebo-contro lled trial of famciclovir are reviewed in light of recently proposed r ecommendations for the analysis of pain in herpes tester trials. The a nalyses examined the effect of famciclovir treatment on the duration o f postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which was defined as pain persisting a fter rash healing, pain persisting >30 days after study enrollment, or pain persisting >3 months after study enrollment; the baseline charac teristics of patients in the famciclovir and placebo groups who develo ped PHN; the impact of famciclovir treatment on the duration of PHN, w hile controlling for significant covariates; and the prevalence of PHN at monthly intervals from 30 to 180 days after enrollment. The result s of these analyses indicated that greater age, rash severity, and acu te pain severity are risk factors for prolonged PHN. In addition, they demonstrated that treatment of acute herpes tester patients with famc iclovir significantly reduces both the duration and prevalence of PHN.