Comparative study of clinical efficacy with amitriptyline, pregabalin, and amitriptyline plus pregabalin combination in postherpetic neuralgia.

摘要

The most common and most intractable sequel of herpes zoster is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). There is no universally accepted definition of postherpetic neuralgia. The duration of PHN was evaluated by using two definitions: Pain that persisted after healing of rash and pain that persisted for more than 30 days from the time of enrollment. Some authors also described PHN as pain persisting for at least three months after healing of rash. The overall incidence of PHN is 8 to 15%, using the first two definitions. Patients of age 50 years or older had a 14.7-fold higher prevalence of pain, 30 days after onset of rash, than patients younger than 50 years of age. PHN is thought to be due to nerve damage caused by the varicella virus.