Can treatment success with 5% lidocaine medicated plaster be predicted in cancer pain with neuropathic components or trigeminal neuropathic pain?

An expert group of 40 pain specialists from 16 countries performed a first assessment of the value of predictors for treatment success with 5% lidocaine-medicated plaster in the management of cancer pain with neuropathic components and trigeminal neuropathic pain. Results were based on the retrospective analysis of 68 case reports (sent in by participants in the 4 weeks prior to the conference) and the practical experience of the experts. Lidocaine plaster treatment was mostly successful for surgery or chemotherapy-related cancer pain with neuropathic components. A dose reduction of systemic pain treatment was observed in at least 50% of all cancer pain patients using the plaster as adjunct treatment; the presence of allodynia, hyperalgesia or pain quality provided a potential but not definitively clear indication of treatment success. In trigeminal neuropathic pain, continuous pain, severe allodynia, hyperalgesia, or postherpetic neuralgia or trauma as the cause of orofacial neuropathic pain were perceived as potential predictors of treatment success with lidocaine plaster. In conclusion, these findings provide a first assessment of the likelihood of treatment benefits with 5% lidocaine-medicated plaster in the management of cancer pain with neuropathic components and trigeminal neuropathic pain and support conducting large, well-designed multicenter studies

Adverse effects of extra-articular corticosteroid injections: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To estimate the occurrence and type of adverse effects after application of an extra-articular (soft tissue) corticosteroid injection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review of the literature was made based on a PubMed and Embase search covering the period 1956 to January 2010. Case reports were included, as were prospective and retrospective studies that reported adverse events of corticosteroid injection. All clinical trials which used extra-articular corticosteroid injections were examined. We divided the reported adverse events into major (defined as those needing intervention or not disappearing) and minor ones (transient, not requiring intervention).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The search yielded 87 relevant studies:44 case reports, 37 prospective studies and 6 retrospective studies. The major adverse events included osteomyelitis and protothecosis; one fatal necrotizing fasciitis; cellulitis and ecchymosis; tendon ruptures; atrophy of the plantar fat was described after injecting a neuroma; and local skin effects appeared as atrophy, hypopigmentation or as skin defect. The minor adverse events effects ranged from skin rash to flushing and disturbed menstrual pattern. Increased pain or steroid flare after injection was reported in 19 studies. After extra-articular injection, the incidence of major adverse events ranged from 0-5.8% and that of minor adverse events from 0-81%. It was not feasible to pool the risk for adverse effects due to heterogeneity of study populations and difference in interventions and variance in reporting.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this literature review it was difficult to accurately quantify the incidence of adverse effects after extra-articular corticosteroid injection. The reported adverse events were relatively mild, although one fatal reaction was reported.</p

Influence of anatomic location of lidocaine patch 5% on effectiveness and tolerability for postherpetic neuralgia

Srinivas Nalamachu,1 Matthew Wieman,2 Leah Bednarek,2 Surya Chitra21International Clinical Research Institute, Overland Park, KS, 2Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc, Malvern, PA, USAPurpose: Lidocaine patch 5% is recommended as a first-line therapy for postherpetic neuralgia pain in neuropathic pain guidelines. Postherpetic neuralgia can occur anywhere on the body but often follows acute herpes zoster occurring in trigeminal and brachial plexus dermatomes. An analysis was conducted to determine whether the anatomic location of lidocaine patch 5% is associated with variations in effectiveness or tolerability in patients with postherpetic neuralgia.Methods: This was a post hoc analysis by anatomic site of patch placement (head [including neck], trunk [chest, abdomen, back, hips], and extremities [arm, leg]) of a 4-week, multicenter, open-label study that enrolled patients with persistent pain following herpes zoster infection. Effectiveness was measured by Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain intensity (0 [no pain] to 10 [worst imaginable pain]) and the BPI subscale for pain relief (0% [no relief] to 100% [complete relief]). Tolerability was assessed on the basis of patient-reported adverse events.Results: Of 332 enrolled patients (59.6% women [n = 198]; 92.5% white [n = 307]; mean [standard deviation] age, 71.2 [13.9] years), those (n = 203) who applied lidocaine patch 5% to a single anatomic site only and had baseline and postbaseline pain score data were analyzed (trunk, n = 130; head, n = 41; extremities, n = 32). The frequency of adverse events differed significantly by anatomic location, with significantly more adverse events reported with patch placement on the head versus the extremities (P = 0.006) or trunk (P = 0.02). BPI average pain improved significantly from baseline in each of the three anatomic areas (mean score decrease, 1.50&ndash;2.04; P &le; 0.002), with no significant difference in effectiveness by patch location.Conclusion: Lidocaine 5% patch was effective and generally well tolerated for each anatomic area evaluated, although application to the head was tolerated less well compared with the trunk and extremities.Keywords: acute herpes zoster, analgesia, efficacy, lidocaine, postherpetic neuralgia, topical therapie