An observational perspective study published in “Health Science Reports” demonstrated subcutaneous injection of methylprednisolone acetate and lidocaine to be a safe and effective therapeutic approach for patients with refractory postherpetic neuralgia. Duc Thuan Nguyen et al. undertook this study to investigate the effectiveness of methylprednisolone acetate and lidocaine to treat 43 patients suffering from refractory postherpetic neuralgia.

All the subjects were given a daily injection of methylprednisolone acetate and lidocaine for 10 days. Utilizing the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the severity of pain was evaluated while the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was determined with the aid of the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36). Evaluation of pain and HRQOL was performed at baseline and post-treatment at four weeks as well as six and 12 months.

All patients witnessed severe postherpetic neuralgia with average VAS scores of 8.44 ± 0.85 (minimum 7; maximum 10) at baseline. At four weeks, six months, and 12 months after therapy, a considerable decline in pain was noted, as shown in the below figure:

All the subjects displayed remarkable improvement in all the eight domains of HRQOL. No significant side effects related to the subcutaneous injection were noted. Thus, subcutaneous injection of methylprednisolone acetate and lidocaine appears to be promising in the management of individuals having refractory postherpetic neuralgia.