A Multicenter, Double Blind, Comparative Study of Zidovudine Alone Versus Zidovudine and Acyclovir as Treatment for HIV-Infected Patients With CD4+ Counts Less Than 200 Cells/mm3

Summary

Original design: The study's purpose is to compare the effects of zidovudine (AZT) alone to the combination of AZT and acyclovir (ACV) to determine if AZT/ACV is associated with a lower death rate and fewer AIDS related opportunistic infections compared to AZT alone, and to investigate the effect of these treatment plans on cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections. The study evaluates two doses of AZT used alone versus two doses of AZT combined with ACV. Per 12/11/92 amendment: Another antiretroviral agent may be substituted for AZT. AZT has been shown to increase the life span of patients with AIDS or advanced AIDS related complex and patients being treated for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Drugs that increase the effectiveness of AZT against HIV may also decrease the need for high doses of AZT. This might reduce some of the negative effects of AZT while not reducing the positive effects.

Timeline

Start

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Primary completion

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Completion

1994-11

Publications

• Background Collier AC, Schoenfeld DA, Bourland D, Hirsch M, Davis LG, Corey L. Prospective comparative study of acyclovir (ACV) and zidovudine (ZDV) versus ZDV alone in patients with AIDS. Natl Conf Hum Retroviruses Relat Infect (2nd). 1995 Jan 29-Feb 2;125
• Background Ioannidis JP, Collier AC, Cooper DA, Corey L, Fiddian AP, Gazzard BG, Griffiths PD, Contopoulos-Ioannidis DG, Lau J, Pavia AT, Saag MS, Spruance SL, Youle MS. Clinical efficacy of high-dose acyclovir in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection: a meta-analysis of randomized individual patient data. J Infect Dis. 1998 Aug;178(2):349-59. doi: 10.1086/515621.

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