Treatment Outcomes in Patients with PHN: A Controlled Trial of Capsaicin 8% Versus Oral Pregabalin

Abstract

AIM OF INVESTIGATION: Pregabalin and High Concentration Capsaicin 8% Topical System (HCCTS) are both established treatments for PHN (Hadley et al, 2016). This investigation compares treatment outcomes of HCCTS and Pregabalin in a subgroup of patients with PHN from the ELEVATE study (Haanpää et al., 2016). Methods ELEVATE was an 8-week, open label, randomized, multicentre, non-inferiority trial. Eligible patients with PHN had pain 6 or more months after shingles vesicle crusting and were naïve to, or had received inadequate treatment with, Gabapentin or Pregabalin.