Combination therapy for dendritic keratitis with acyclovir and alpha-interferon.

Fifty-nine patients with superficial herpetic keratitis were treated with 3% acyclovir ointment five times a day in combination with alpha-interferon (30 million IU/mL) or albumin-placebo once a day in a stratified double-masked clinical trial. All patients had minimal wiping of the superficial lesion to isolate virus. The healing time of the corneal ulcers was substantially lower with the combination of acyclovir and interferon than with the combination of acyclovir and placebo. Only minor toxic effects were observed. The combination of acyclovir and interferon appears to be the best presently known treatment for dendritic keratitis.