[[:Category:Antivirals|Antiviral]] • [[:Category:Nucleoside_analogs|Nucleoside analog (prodrug)]] • [[:Category:Anti-herpesvirus_agents|Anti-herpesvirus agent]]
mechanism
String
'"`UNIQ--vote-000005D0-QINU`"' Selectivity comes from the viral-kinase-only initial phosphorylation step, which is why uninfected cells generate minimal active drug'"`UNIQ--ref-000005D1-QINU`"'. Dose-adjust by renal function; rare crystalline nephropathy with rapid IV acyclovir.
Initial genital herpes 1 g PO BID × 10 days; recurrent 500 mg BID × 3 days; suppression 500 mg-1 g PO daily; zoster 1 g TID × 7 days
preparations
String
500 mg, 1 g tablets
fda_max
String
3 g/d (zoster)
pill_id
Text
routes
List of String, delimiter: ,
Oral
onset
String
Symptom relief within 24-48 hours
duration
String
8 hours per dose
halflife
String
~3 hours (acyclovir, the active metabolite); longer in renal impairment'"`UNIQ--ref-000005D6-QINU`"'
bioavailability
String
~55% bioavailability of acyclovir after valacyclovir oral (vs ~20% from oral acyclovir directly)'"`UNIQ--ref-000005D7-QINU`"'
pregnancy
String
Widely used in pregnancy when antiviral indicated; reassuring registry data.<sup class="pcp-cn" title="This claim needs a citation.">[[[Pharmacopedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]]</sup>
