GM-CSF with Ganciclovir for the Treatment of CMV Retinitis in AIDS

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Abstract
To the Editor: Cytomegalovirus infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with immunodeficiency, including those with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). A synthetic nucleoside analogue, ganciclovir (dihydroxy-propoxymethyl guanine), has been shown to have activity against cytomegalovirus and the retinitis that may accompany this infection. The most serious adverse drug reaction to ganciclovir is neutropenia, which appears to be dose-related and reversible. It has been reported to occur in up to 42 percent of the patients in one series.1 Ganciclovir is virostatic, not virocidal, and relapse of the retinitis typically occurs within a month of the discontinuation . . .