Clinician's perspective on neuropathic pain and use of Lidocaine 5% patch with hydrogel technology in postherpetic neuralgia

• Main Authors: Kailash Kothari, Shirazahmed A Munshi, Manish Raj, Prakash Rajendra Deshmukh, Manjiri Neelesh Ranade, Venkatesh Nevagi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Pain
• Subjects: neuropathic pain; painful diabetic neuropathy; posttraumatic neuralgia; postherpetic neuralgia
• Online Access: http://www.indianjpain.org/article.asp?issn=0970-5333;year=2021;volume=35;issue=2;spage=135;epage=140;aulast=Kothari

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is a condition that affects the quality of life (QoL) of many patients. It is often difficult to treat effectively due to the complexity of this disorder. This study was aimed to assess clinician's perspectives on NP, particularly for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), posttraumatic neuralgia (PTN), and painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN). Further, the study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of lidocaine 5% patch with hydrogel technology in PHN. Materials and Methods: These two aspects were assessed through two prospective survey-based questionnaire studies that were conducted from January 2018 to December 2018 with clinicians from relevant specialties across India. Data were collected from clinicians' inputs based on their clinical practice and statistically analyzed. Results: More than half of the clinicians reported prolonged duration of NP in PHN, PTN, and PDN conditions. After applying lidocaine 5% patch with hydrogel technology, around 83.58% of clinicians opined that patients experienced a cooling and soothing effect due to the presence of a hydrogel layer in the patch. A significant reduction in pain score was reported by 76.11% of clinicians and 79.1% of them agreed that there was pain relief during the intermittent patch-free period also. The majority of the doctors (74.6%) reported an absence of any side effects. Conclusion: Study findings revealed that topical application of lidocaine 5% patch with hydrogel technology is safe and effective in PHN.