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Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Tender Point Infiltration (TPI) for Acute and Subacute Zoster Associated Pain

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Tender Point Infiltration (TPI) for Management of Acute and Subacute Zoster Associated Pain

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06344403
Enrollment
136
Registered
2024-04-03
Start date
2025-06-01
Completion date
2027-12-01
Last updated
2025-09-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Acute Pain, Herpes Zoster, Local Infiltration

Keywords

Herpes zoster, Acute pain

Brief summary

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a skin infection disease which cause severe zoster-associated pain (ZAP) along sensory nerve in the corresponding segment. Evidence for the efficacy of existing local therapies for acute/subacute ZAP is limited. The hypothesis is that patients with acute/subacute ZAP treated with TPIs with local anesthetic and steroids under the basis of standard treatment will show better clinical outcomes compared with subjects treated with standard antiviral medicine treatment only.

Detailed description

The conventional therapies for HZ infection can be seen in two phases. Those in acute phase are mainly antiviral (acyclovir, famciclovir, etc.), analgesic drugs (opioids, acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, gabapentin, etc.), while these conventional drug therapies could yield potential side effects, and part of patients are not fully satisfied with the analgesic effect. It is considered that supplementary and alternative local therapies may have better results with less side effects and reduce medical costs to relieve pain associated with HZ infection. These options, including nerve blockade (epidural injection, paravertebral injection, sympathetic block, intercostal nerve block, intracutaneous injection), pulsed radiofrequency16, acupuncture, fire needling acupuncture, electrical nerve stimulation19, lidocaine patch, capsaicin cream, and botulinum toxin injection have been reported to give positive therapeutic effects on acute herpes zoster neuralgia (AHN), however, evidence for the efficacy of existing local therapies is limited and risks may occur due to high invasiveness of some procedures, there is insufficient evidence and expert agreement to make recommendations for these intervention strategies as first-line treatments in guidelines.

Interventions

DRUGanalgesic

Patients will receive daily 300 mg pregabalin in divided doses (150 mg/12 hours). Once the patient report mild pain (VAS ≤ 3), the trial for reducing the pregabalin dose will be done. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib (200 mg on request, up to two times daily)27 and tramadol (100 mg on request, up to 400mg daily) will be available for as-needed analgesia.

BEHAVIORALTender point infiltration

Lidocaine mixed with diprospan injected into tender points.

Sponsors

Beijing Tiantan Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Patients with onset of HZ rash less than 90 days. 2. HZ affected the spinal nerves (cervical/thoracic/lumbar nerve). 3. Aged 18 to 75 years (inclusive). 4. Pain intensity \> 7 cm on a visual analogue scale (VAS 0-10 cm). 5. Agreed to sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

1. Infection at the puncture site. 2. Poor general situation unable to be treated. 3. A history of abuse of narcotics. 4. Non-compliance or inability to complete the self-evaluation questionnaires. 5. Pregnancy or lactation. 6. Patients using immunosuppressants and those with severe systemic diseases such as hematological malignancies, cancers, or autoimmune disorders.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The presence of postherpetic neuralgia using VAS score12 months12 months after the treatments, number of patients with any pain with a VAS score of higher than 0/Number of all patients,0=no pain and 10=worst pain imaginable

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Proportion of patients receiving repeated TPIs and block points12 monthsNumber of patients receiving TPI treatments more than twice/Number of all patients
Consumption of oral drugs at each time pointday 1, then 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months following the treatment.Dose of celecoxib, pregabalin and tramadol
The presence of PHN at month 3 and month 6 post treatment3 and 6 months after treatmentsNumber of patients with any pain with a VAS score of higher than 0/Number of all patients (0 = 'no pain at all' to 10 = 'worst pain imaginable')
visual analogue scale score at each time pointbefore the treatment (baseline), 30min after the intervention (for TPI group), then 1 day, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months following the treatment0 = 'no pain at all' to 10 = 'worst pain imaginable'
Quality of life on the Scores on the WHOQOL-BREFday 1, then week 2, month 1, month 3, month 6 and month 12 following the treatmentScores on the WHOQOL-BREF. The responses are given on 5-point Likert scale (1-5) and the overall score ranges from 0 to 100; a higher score corresponds to better QoL.
Adverse reactions through study completionAfter treatmentsAny side effect and uncomfortable situation related to treatment through study completion,an average of 1 year
Predictive factors for the prevention of PHN at month 12 posttreatmentmonth 12 posttreatmentthe correlation between patients' baseline characteristics and the incidence of PHN will be analyzed 12 months after treatment in TPI group.
Patient satisfaction scores on the 5-point Likert scaleday 1, then week 2, month 1, month 3, month 6 and month 12 following the treatment1: Very dissatisfied,2: Dissatisfied,3: Not sure,4: Satisfied,5: Very satisfied

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026