Amenamevir safe and effective treatment option for patients with herpes zoster

The authors reported the following findings:

• 43.9%, 25.6%, and 12.5% of patients had pain at the levels of 1–3, 4–6, and 7–10 on the numerical rating scale.
• 30.0%, 27.2%, and 16.1% of patients were concomitantly treated with analgesics: acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and Ca2+ channel α 2δ ligands, respectively, and 10.6% were treated with topical antiherpetic drugs.
• Adverse drug reactions occurred in 0.77% of patients, including four serious adverse drug reactions in four patients (thrombocytopenia, hyponatremia, rhabdomyolysis, and rash).
• Regarding important potential risks, cardiovascular events, renal disorder, and decreased platelets were observed in one, one, and two patients, respectively.
• The cutaneous improvement rate (significantly improved or improved) was 95.5%, with significantly higher improvement rates in patients treated with amenamevir for 7 days and in patients with less severe cutaneous lesions or less pain.
• Factors affecting the time to pain resolution were the severity of cutaneous lesions and pain at the start of amenamevir treatment and older age.

"Our study showed Amenamevir to be a safe and effective treatment option for patients with herpes zoster, with a favourable safety profile and high cutaneous improvement rates," the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Imafuku, S., Korematsu, K., Mori, N., Kani, T., & Matsui, K. Real-world safety and efficacy of amenamevir in patients with herpes zoster in Japan: A postmarketing observational study (REWARD). The Journal of Dermatology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1346-8138.16876