Topical and intranasal analgesic therapy in a woman with refractory postherpetic neuralgia

A patient-specific, stepped approach to topical and intranasal analgesic pharmacotherapy was effective in reducing refractory postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) not responding to the current standard of care for PHN. The use of topical analgesic therapy allowed for higher concentrations of medication locally while reducing the likelihood of systemic side effects common to the drugs used. No adverse effects were noted for either topical or intranasal drug therapy. The patient-specific, stepped approach resulted in clinically significant decreases in pain on visual analog scale (VAS), with the use of intranasal ketamine 10% solution and topical gabapentin 6%, ketoprofen 10%, lidocaine 5%, and ketamine 10% cream.