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Lamotrigine monotherapy for control of neuralgia after nerve section
A Sandner-Kiesling1, G Rumpold Seitlinger, C Dorn
1Department of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Karl Franzens-University, Graz, Austria. andreas.sandner@uni-graz.at
Background:
We present six patients treated only with the new-generation anticonvulsant lamotrigine to define its sole effect on neuralgia after nerve section.
Methods:
Previous surgical or pharmacological attempts failed to relieve this neuropathic pain in our patients. Before initiation of lamotrigine therapy, patients reported spontaneous and touch-evoked shooting pain followed by periods of burning pain. No breakthrough medication was needed during the maintenance phase of 1-23 months. Data were acquired by a pain diary on a weekly basis.
Results:
With 75-300 mg of lamotrigine per day, the burning and shooting pain intensity was relieved by 33-100%. Most obviously, the attack frequency of the shooting pain was reduced by 80-100%. No adverse effects were observed.
Conclusion:
We conclude that lamotrigine may be beneficial in the treatment of neuralgia after nerve section following the failure of previous pharmacological or surgical attempts.