Trigeminal neuralgia is the most common neuralgia. Its therapeutic approach is challenging as the first line treatment often does\nnot help, or even causes intolerable side effects. The aim of our randomized double blind, placebo controlled, crossover study was\nto investigate in a prospective way the effect of lidocaine in patients with trigeminal neuralgia. Twenty patients met our inclusion\ncriteria and completed the study. Each patient underwent fourweekly sessions, two ofwhichwerewith lidocaine (5mgs/kg) and two\nwith placebo infusions administered over 60 minutes. Intravenous lidocaine was superior regarding the reduction of the intensity\nof pain, the allodynia, and the hyperalgesia compared to placebo. Moreover, contrary to placebo, lidocaine managed to maintain\nits therapeutic results for the first 24 hours after intravenous infusion. Although, intravenous lidocaine is not a first line treatment,\nwhen first line medications fail to help, pain specialists may try it as an add-on treatment. This trial is registered with NCT01955967.
Loading....