Version 1
: Received: 6 March 2020 / Approved: 7 March 2020 / Online: 7 March 2020 (03:22:47 CET)
How to cite:
Choi, E.M.; Chung, M.H.; Jun, J.; Chun, E.H.; Jun, I.; Park, J.H.; Choi, E.; Kim, J.E. Therapeutic Effects of Continuous Epidural Infusion of Local Anesthetics with Dexamethasone for Postherpetic Neuralgia. Preprints2020, 2020030116. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0116.v1
Choi, E.M.; Chung, M.H.; Jun, J.; Chun, E.H.; Jun, I.; Park, J.H.; Choi, E.; Kim, J.E. Therapeutic Effects of Continuous Epidural Infusion of Local Anesthetics with Dexamethasone for Postherpetic Neuralgia. Preprints 2020, 2020030116. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0116.v1
Choi, E.M.; Chung, M.H.; Jun, J.; Chun, E.H.; Jun, I.; Park, J.H.; Choi, E.; Kim, J.E. Therapeutic Effects of Continuous Epidural Infusion of Local Anesthetics with Dexamethasone for Postherpetic Neuralgia. Preprints2020, 2020030116. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0116.v1
APA Style
Choi, E.M., Chung, M.H., Jun, J., Chun, E.H., Jun, I., Park, J.H., Choi, E., & Kim, J.E. (2020). Therapeutic Effects of Continuous Epidural Infusion of Local Anesthetics with Dexamethasone for Postherpetic Neuralgia. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0116.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Choi, E.M., Eun-Ha Choi and Jung Eun Kim. 2020 "Therapeutic Effects of Continuous Epidural Infusion of Local Anesthetics with Dexamethasone for Postherpetic Neuralgia" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0116.v1
Abstract
The most common complication of herpes zoster is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is accompanied by severe pain that lowers patients’ quality of life. Although epidural injection of local anesthetics and steroids is effective in controlling neuropathic pain resulting from herpes zoster, few studies report the efficacy and safety of epidural steroid administration in PHN patients. We randomly assigned 42 patients with severe PHN pain (visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥7) to receive continuous epidural infusion of local anesthetics with either a one-time bolus of 5 mg dexamethasone or dexamethasone pulse therapy. VAS scores significantly decreased over time for all patients, but the reduction in VAS scores and likelihood of achieving complete remission were significantly greater among patients who received dexamethasone pulse therapy, without any adverse effects. These results show that continuous epidural infusion of local anesthetics with dexamethasone is effective and safe for reducing PHN pain and promoting complete remission and that more pronounced beneficial effects are associated with more intense epidural steroid administration.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
