A Meta-Analysis of Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety of Gabapentin in the Treatment of Postherpetic Neuralgia from Randomized Controlled Trials.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The study aims to systematically evaluate the clinical effect of gabapentin in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

METHOD:

Data were retrieved electronically from PubMed, Embase, CNKI, the China Biomedical Database, and the Library of Clinical Database, beginning from the time of inception to April 2017, in order to collect data on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of gabapentin and placebo in PHN treatment.

RESULTS:

A total of 11 RCTs (2376 people) were retrieved. The gabapentin group reported significantly reduced pain intensity [MD=-0.91, 95% CI -1.32 to -0.51, P<0.00001] compared with the placebo group. Those treated with gabapentin also experienced significantly improved sleep quality [SMD=-0.44, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.23, P<0.0001], but were more likely to experience incidence of adverse events, such as somnolence, dizziness, and peripheral edema. Results of the subgroup analysis showed that the source of heterogeneity may be related to the formulations of the drug.

CONCLUSION:

Gabapentin can be used to effectively and safely treat PHN.

• Authors: Meng Zhang, Cun-Xiang Gao, Ke-Tao Ma, Li Li, Zhi-Gang Dai, Sheng Wang, Jun-Qiang Si
• Journal: BioMed research international (Biomed Res Int) Vol. 2018 Pg. 7474207 ( 2018) ISSN: 2314-6141 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 30069477 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis)

Chemical References

• Amines
• Analgesics
• Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids
• gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
• Gabapentin

Topics

• Amines
• Analgesics (therapeutic use)
• Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids
• Gabapentin (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Neuralgia, Postherpetic (drug therapy)
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• gamma-Aminobutyric Acid