%0 Journal Article %J Cornea %D 2014 %T Treatment of pseudodendrites in herpes zoster ophthalmicus with topical ganciclovir 0.15% gel %A Aggarwal, Shruti %A Cavalcanti, Bernardo M %A Pavan-Langston, Deborah %K Administration, Topical %K Aged %K Antiviral Agents %K Female %K Ganciclovir %K Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus %K Humans %K Keratitis, Dendritic %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Ophthalmic Solutions %K Retrospective Studies %K Treatment Outcome %K Visual Acuity %X PURPOSE: There is no standard of treatment for epithelial pseudodendrites in herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). The purpose of this study is to report the topical antiviral drug, 0.15% ganciclovir for treatment of these lesions. METHODS: This is a retrospective, interventional case series of 4 patients who were diagnosed with HZO epithelial pseudodendrites despite being given oral antiviral treatment and who underwent 0.15% ganciclovir gel topical treatment. Main outcome measures included epithelial healing time, visual acuity, and corneal sensation. RESULTS: All 4 patients were immunocompetent and had epithelial lesions unresponsive to antiviral treatment with oral valacyclovir. Treatment with topical 0.15% ganciclovir gel 5 times a day resulted in the lesions healing successfully within 7 days with improved visual acuity in 3 patients and an increase in corneal sensation in 2 of the 4 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Topical 0.15% ganciclovir gel, 5 times a day until pseudodendritic lesion healing and tapering to bid for 2 to 4 weeks thereafter, is an effective treatment for pseudodendrites in HZO-affected cases that are often a challenge to manage with other oral or topical antivirals. %B Cornea %V 33 %P 109-13 %8 2014 Feb %G eng %N 2 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24322809?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1097/ICO.0000000000000020