Monitoring plasma levels of ganciclovir in AIDS patients receiving oral ganciclovir as maintenance therapy for CMV retinitis

• DOI: 10.1046/j.1469-0691.2000.00014.x
• Publication Date: 2003-03-11T07:20:56Z
• Authors: C. Piketty; C. Bardin; J. Gilquin; A. Gairard; M.D. Kazatchkine; F. Chast
• Keywords: Microbiology (medical); 0301 basic medicine; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; Drug Resistance; Administration, Oral; Cytomegalovirus; oral ganciclovir; Antiviral Agents; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Infectious Diseases; 0302 clinical medicine; Recurrence; Acute Disease; Cytomegalovirus Retinitis; Humans; Prospective Studies; ganciclovir plasma levels; Ganciclovir

To investigate whether low ganciclovir serum levels in patients on maintenance oral ganciclovir therapy are associated with recurrence of CMV retinitis.A prospective study of the plasma concentration of ganciclovir after initiation of maintenance oral ganciclovir therapy in 14 AIDS patients who had recovered from acute cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis.Five of the 14 patients exhibited a mean time to recurrence of 37 days. The mean trough plasma concentration of ganciclovir in these patients after 1 month of oral ganciclovir therapy, was 0.40 +/- 0.30 mg/L. Nine patients had a mean time of progression of 263 days. The mean trough plasma concentration of ganciclovir in the latter patients was 0.80 +/- 0.60 mg/L.Patients exhibiting trough plasma levels of ganciclovir below 0.6 mg/L may be at higher risk of progression than patients who exhibited levels above 0.6 mg/L.