Acyclovir in the treatment of laryngeal papillomatosis

Abstract

We report the results obtained in a study of 3 young patients with laryngeal papillomatosis, who were treated with acyclovir after tumor excision using forceps was performed under microlaryngoscopy. No recurrence of the papillomatosis occurred between 18 and 42 months post-therapy. Laryngeal papillomatosis is the most common proliferative laryngeal lesion in children. Different non-surgical therapies have been used to prevent its recurrence but with poor results. Acyclovir is a drug with proved efficacy in DNA viral diseases. Since papillomata of the larynx is most likely a viral disease which is imputed to have a DNA virus etiology, acyclovir may be effective to control it.