Lack of association between acyclovir use and survival in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus disease treated with zidovudine

To evaluate the association between acyclovir use and survival in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection, observational data from 1044 persons with AIDS or AIDS-related complex (ARC) and ≤250 CD4 cells/mm³following initiation of zidovudine were analyzed. Of these patients, 336 (32%) received regular acyclovir (≥6 weeks in 2 months). There were no differences in mortality data between acyclovir users and nonusers overall or when analyzed from 1 year after first use of zidovudine, from time of AIDS in those with ARC at enrollment, from patients with AIDS or < 100 CD4 cells/mm³at enrollment, or from patients taking acyclovir for up to 10 months. Acyclovir use was associated with increased mortality (relative hazard, 1.28; P =.057) independent of herpesvirus infections and of other characteristics associated with mortality. In this study, the use of acyclovir at doses for treatment of herpes simplex virus infection in combination with zidovudine was not associated with prolonged survival.