Abstract

A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS ON TREATMENT STRATEGIES OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Nikil K. Mathew*, Sreelekshmi R., Saira Susan Varghese, Pheba Susan Thomas and Santhosh M. Mathew

ABSTRACT

Background: Neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory system. It has a significant impact on the quality of life and affects both mental and physical wellbeing of an individual. Anticonvulsants and antidepressants are often used as first-line treatment of neuropathic pain. The study aims to evaluate the treatment regimen for a better therapeutic outcome. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in the department of Neuromedicine in a tertiary care hospital. A total of 131 patients with neuropathic pain diagnosed with symptoms, clinical examination, X- ray, MRI were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patient demographic details and medication plan were acquired from the patient record database. The collected data were compared based on the NeuPSIG. The statistical analysis was done by IBM SPSS 20. Results: Among the 131 patients 84 were female and 47 were male. The mean average age of the patients recruited in our study was found to be 50.08 ± 10.80 and incidence of pain was more in female (64.12%) than males (35.88%). Of the first line anticonvulsant treatment regimen, most commonly prescribed is Pregabalin (48.87%) followed by Gabapentin (32%). Of the first line antianxiety treatment regimen, most commonly prescribed is Amitriptyline (40.78%) followed by Duloxetine (32.23%). Conclusion: Among the selected patients, females were more affected by the neuropathic pain than men and the age group between 40-60 shown more prevalence of the neuropathic pain compared to other age groups. WHO prescribing indicators were used to assess the prescribing pattern of neuropathic pain management. The study concluded that the number of drugs prescribed were high and prescription by generic name needs to be promoted.

Keywords: Neuropathic pain, NeuPSIG, Pregabalin, Gabapentin, Amitriptyline, Duloxetine, Prevalence.