Safety and efficacy of pregabalin combined with tramadol in treatment of intractable postherpetic neuralgia
LI Jing1,YU Yanbo2,MENG Taojiang3,and CHEN Ting4
1.Department of Pain Management, Hainan Provincial Corps Hospital, Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, Haikou 570203, China; 2. Department of Pain Management, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; 3.Sanya Sanatorium,Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, Sanya 572023,China; 4.Wuxi Red Cross Central Blood Station,Wuxi 214021,China
Abstract：Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of pregabalin combined with tramadol in the treatment of patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) caused by refractory herpes zoster(the pain lasted more than 3 months).Methods Fifty-six patients with PHN caused by refractory herpes zoster were randomly divided into two groups: treatment group (30 patients) and control group (26 patients). The treatment group was given pregabalin, 75-150 mg BID combined with tramadol 100 mg BID for six weeks. The control group received tramadol 100 mgBID for six weeks. The degree of pain before and after treatment was evaluated using the Visual analogue scale (VAS), while the adverse effects were observed.Results After six weeks of treatment, the VAS scores of both groups were significantly deceased, especially in the treatment group (P<0.05).The efficacy in the treatment group (76.7%) was significantly different from that in the control group (46.1%)(P<0.01). In this study, adverse effects of pregabalin were mainly manifested as dizziness, drowsiness and peripheral edema, which were dose related.Conclusions It is safe and effective to treat PHN caused by refractory herpes zoster with pregabalin combined with tramadol.
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2017, Vol. 28 
