Oxcarbazepine in painful diabetic neuropathy: results of a dose-ranging study

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxcarbazepine in patients with diabetic neuropathy in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging 16-week study.

A total of 347 patients were randomized to oxcarbazepine 600 mg/day (n = 83), 1,200 mg/day (n = 87), 1,800 mg/day (n = 88), or placebo (n = 89). The primary efficacy variable was change in mean visual analog scale (VAS) score from baseline to the last week of the study.

No difference between any oxcarbazepine group and the placebo group was noted for the primary efficacy variable. Both the 1,200- and 1,800-mg/day groups showed a trend toward statistical significance (P = 0.101, P = 0.096, respectively). Statistically significant differences were found between the oxcarbazepine 1,200-mg/day (P = 0.038) and 1,800-mg/day (P = 0.005) groups and placebo in the overall mean weekly VAS scores for the entire double-blind treatment phase.

Although the primary efficacy variable did not reach statistical significance, patients taking oxcarbazepine 1,200 and 1,800 mg/day showed improvements in VAS scores compared with placebo. Oxcarbazepine may provide clinically meaningful pain relief in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy.