Benefits of Duloxetine in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy

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Created On: 14/07/2023

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted to assess the safety and effectiveness of Duloxetine and placebo therapies for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

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Key take away

In patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, Duloxetine has a good safety profile and is effective to relieve pain and improve quality of life.

Background

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted to assess the safety and effectiveness of Duloxetine and placebo therapies for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Method

Databases such as Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase were explored for searching pertinent English articles using the PRISMA guidelines. Improvements in pain, patient-reported health-related performance, and patient's quality of life were used to examine the treatment's safety and effectiveness.

Result

Seven randomized controlled trials were examined. Duloxetine was more effective than placebo in terms of pain relief (mean difference [MD] - 0.89). Additionally, the European Quality of Life Instrument 5D version (MD 0.04), the Patient Global Impression of Improvement scale (MD - 0.50), and the Clinical Global Impression severity subscale (MD - 0.48) all showed that Duloxetine remarkably boosted the patient's quality of life. Severe adverse events were uncommon. The most frequent side effects were reduced appetite, constipation, tiredness, nausea, somnolence, and dizziness. As found, 12.6% of all patients discontinued treatment due to these symptoms.

Conclusion

Duloxetine is more effective than placebo therapies to mitigate painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The paucity of serious side effects suggests Duloxetine's safety. Duloxetine 120 mg may help relieve the symptoms when a 60 mg dose is not sufficient.