Postherpetic neuralgia Nervous System Diseases Postzoster neuralgia
Conditions
Interventions
Antiviral therapy is first-line treatment and should be initiated within 72 hours of rash onset to increase the rate of healing and decrease pain, valacyclovir is also effective in the prevention of t
then, as necessary, mild opioids (codeine)
then strong opioids such as morphine, until the patient is free of pain.
Gabapentin or placebo treatment: effective dose should be individualized according to patient response and tol
Sponsors
Primary Care Management of Mallorca (Gerencia de Atención Primaria de Mallorca) (Spain)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Patient aged 50 or above, either sex 2. Patient diagnosed or uncomplicated herpes zoster within 72 hours of onset of the rash in patients with acute herpes zoster and with moderate/severe pain (Analogic visual scale = 4)
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Patients taking gabapentin 2. Patients diagnosed of severe hepatic impairment, hypersensitivity to gabapentin or excipients, acute renal failure or renal impairment (Clcr <79ml/min) 3. Patients with evidence of cutaneous or visceral dissemination of herpes zoster infection (cutaneous dissemination is defined as 20 discrete lesions outside adjacent dermatomes) or ocular dissemination 4. Immunocompromised state and/or interferon treatment in the last 4 weeks 5. Patient taking tricyclic antidepressants or corticoids in the inclusion or treatment period
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Prevalence of postherpetic neuralgia, assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS >0) at 12 weeks | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Prevalence of postherpetic neuralgiaa, assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS >0) at 6 weeks 2. Percentage of patients with a reduction of at least 50% in the VAS scale | — |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed