For an infant on suppressive acyclovir therapy after neonatal herpes, which monitoring is essential?

For an infant on suppressive acyclovir therapy after neonatal herpes, which monitoring is essential?

• A. Regular ANC.
• B. Liver function tests.
• C. Urine culture.
• D. Platelet count.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is safety monitoring for antiviral therapy in newborns. Acyclovir can affect the bone marrow and reduce neutrophil counts in some infants, so keeping a close eye on the absolute neutrophil count helps catch neutropenia early and prevents infection risk during suppressive therapy after neonatal herpes. Regular ANC monitoring directly tracks this potential toxicity and guides timely adjustments if neutrophils drop. Liver function tests, urine culture, or platelet counts aren’t the primary concerns with this specific therapy in this context. Hepatic toxicity is less typical for acyclovir, urine cultures are about detecting infection rather than drug toxicity, and platelet counts aren’t the key monitored effect here.

The main idea here is safety monitoring for antiviral therapy in newborns. Acyclovir can affect the bone marrow and reduce neutrophil counts in some infants, so keeping a close eye on the absolute neutrophil count helps catch neutropenia early and prevents infection risk during suppressive therapy after neonatal herpes. Regular ANC monitoring directly tracks this potential toxicity and guides timely adjustments if neutrophils drop.

Liver function tests, urine culture, or platelet counts aren’t the primary concerns with this specific therapy in this context. Hepatic toxicity is less typical for acyclovir, urine cultures are about detecting infection rather than drug toxicity, and platelet counts aren’t the key monitored effect here.