Skip Navigation
Menu
Letters |15 September 1997

Cidofovir for Cytomegalovirus Retinitis

Stephen Kravcik, MD, FRCPC

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • Ottawa General Hospital; Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6, Canada
×
FULL TEXT
TO THE EDITOR:
The demonstration of the effectiveness of cidofovir to treat cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis adds a welcome third drug to the list of anti-CMV therapies. However, it is most disturbing to find that the two clinical studies of this compound [1, 2] compared it with no treatment (“deferred therapy”).
There is no doubt that the natural history of untreated CMV retinitis is one of relentless progression and that ganciclovir [3] and foscarnet [4] are both effective. Therefore, the withholding of proven therapy (even with close follow-up) in the context of a clinical trial to demonstrate the effectiveness of cidofovir is unacceptable. The rationalization that only patients with peripheral retinitis were enrolled is irrelevant and of questionable prudence because 4 of 23 patients in the no-treatment group developed sight-threatening retinitis and another patient developed extraocular CMV infection.
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Kravcik S. Cidofovir for Cytomegalovirus Retinitis. Ann Intern Med. 1997;127:490. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-127-6-199709150-00015

Download citation file:

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 1997;127(6):490.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-127-6-199709150-00015

0 Citations
CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×