Potential Utility of Peripherally Applied Loperamide in Oral Chronic Graft-versus-host Disease Related Pain

Abstract

Four patients with oral chronic graft-versus-host disease pain were treated with loperamide oral-rinse solution. Two-week continued use of the drug solution improved not only the pain scores but also the pain-causing disabilities associated with eating, drinking and sleeping, with no noticeable side effects. Current results suggest that the mu-opioid agonist, loperamide, has a potential analgesic effect that could be clinically used as a peripheral analgesic agent for stomatitis pain. However, these observations will need to be further confirmed in a randomized-controlled trial.