Wise Young
03-16-2002, 06:32 AM
See discussion in pain forum (http://carecure.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44486)
• Putzke JD, Richards JS, Kezar L, Hicken BL and Ness TJ (2002). Long-term use of gabapentin for treatment of pain after traumatic spinal cord injury. Clin J Pain. 18 (2): 116-21. Summary: OBJECTIVE: To determine the long-term efficacy of gabapentin as a treatment of pain after spinal cord injury. DESIGN: All patients with traumatic-onset spinal cord injury treated with gabapentin were identified and followed up using a longitudinal observational design with two contact points (6 and 36 months after the trial) using a semi-structured interview. The first follow-up interview attempted to capture all 31 patients placed on therapeutic trial. The second follow-up interview attempted to capture those reporting a favorable response (n = 14) to the therapeutic trial at the first follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 27 patients contacted at the first follow-up (87% response rate), 6 (22%) discontinued the trial secondary to intolerable side effects; therefore, the pain analgesic effects of gabapentin in these patients could not be determined. Of the remaining 21 patients, 14 (67%) reported a favorable response (i.e., a 2 or greater point reduction on a 0-10 pain-rating scale). The second follow-up interview captured 11 (79% response rate) of the 14 patients reporting a favorable response at the first interview, and 91% (10 of 11 patients) continued to report that gabapentin was an effective analgesic. There was no evidence to suggest dosing difficulties due to tolerance over the 3-year period. Sedation, dizziness, and forgetfulness were the most common side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Gabapentin may be an effective treatment of pain after spinal cord injury among those able to tolerate initial and long-term side effects. Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.A.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=11882775>
• Putzke JD, Richards JS, Kezar L, Hicken BL and Ness TJ (2002). Long-term use of gabapentin for treatment of pain after traumatic spinal cord injury. Clin J Pain. 18 (2): 116-21. Summary: OBJECTIVE: To determine the long-term efficacy of gabapentin as a treatment of pain after spinal cord injury. DESIGN: All patients with traumatic-onset spinal cord injury treated with gabapentin were identified and followed up using a longitudinal observational design with two contact points (6 and 36 months after the trial) using a semi-structured interview. The first follow-up interview attempted to capture all 31 patients placed on therapeutic trial. The second follow-up interview attempted to capture those reporting a favorable response (n = 14) to the therapeutic trial at the first follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 27 patients contacted at the first follow-up (87% response rate), 6 (22%) discontinued the trial secondary to intolerable side effects; therefore, the pain analgesic effects of gabapentin in these patients could not be determined. Of the remaining 21 patients, 14 (67%) reported a favorable response (i.e., a 2 or greater point reduction on a 0-10 pain-rating scale). The second follow-up interview captured 11 (79% response rate) of the 14 patients reporting a favorable response at the first interview, and 91% (10 of 11 patients) continued to report that gabapentin was an effective analgesic. There was no evidence to suggest dosing difficulties due to tolerance over the 3-year period. Sedation, dizziness, and forgetfulness were the most common side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Gabapentin may be an effective treatment of pain after spinal cord injury among those able to tolerate initial and long-term side effects. Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.A.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=11882775>