In postherpetic neuralgia patients, clinicians should use
anti-neuropathic drugs patients based on specific patient condition accompanied
by combinations of interventional treatments at an early stage.
A recent study depicted that for treating individuals suffering from postherpetic neuralgia, administration of regular anti-neuropathic drugs accompanied by interventional therapies at an early stage is the best therapeutic approach. The suitable combinations of different interventions illustrated improved pain alleviation.
A Bayesian network meta-analysis was carried out to assess the relative efficacy of interventional treatments to manage individuals suffering from postherpetic neuralgia. This study combined both direct and indirect evidence and assessed the validity and superiority of the postherpetic neuralgia therapies.
A conventional paired meta-analysis, followed by a network meta-analysis utilizing the Bayesian framework was carried out. The most effective individual interventions after one week of therapy were found to be botulinum toxin type A and pulsed radiofrequency. For combination treatment, pulsed radiofrequency + nerve block was the best option. This was followed by subcutaneous injection or local infiltration + nerve block + ozone.
However, the combination of pulsed radiofrequency + nerve block + local infiltration demonstrated minimized efficacy compared with each therapy and was highly invasive for the individuals. After a long-term follow-up, the pulsed radiofrequency was found to be the most effective treatment approach for managing postherpetic neuralgia patients.
Furthermore, too many therapies at the same time are not advocated. Thus,
healthcare professionals should manage the treatment regimens based on the
individual's specific condition and existing measures and strive to attain
personalized therapy.
Journal of International Medical Research
Efficacy of different interventions for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia: a Bayesian network meta-analysis
Bei Wen et al.
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