Effectiveness of the lidocaine patch 5% on pain qualities in three chronic pain states: assessment with the Neuropathic Pain Scale

Abstract

SUMMARYObjective: To determine the impact of the lidocaine patch 5% on pain qualities associated with chronic pain from post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), painful diabetic neuropathy (DN), and low-back pain (LBP), using the Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS).Patients and methods: Patients with PHN, painful DN, and LBP were enrolled if they had partial response to gabapentin-containing analgesic regimens and if they reported moderate-to-severe pain on the NPS at study enrollment. Eligible patients were included in an open-label, non-randomized, prospective, 2-week study across 7 clinical trial sites in the United States. The lidocaine patch 5% was applied to the area of maximal pain, using no more than a total of 4 patches changed every 24 h. Patients were maintained on their other analgesic regimens with no dose adjustment or additions allowed. Treatment effect was measured by change from baseline to Week 2 in 4 composite measures of the NPS: NPS-10, NPS-4, NPS-8, and NPS-non-allodynia. Safety was assessed by adver...