RESEARCH ARTICLE
Transdermal Lidocaine and Ketamine for Neuropathic Pain: A Study of Effectiveness and Tolerability
Emily Tam, Andrea D Furlan*
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2012Volume: 6
First Page: 58
Last Page: 64
Publisher ID: TONEUJ-6-58
DOI: 10.2174/1874205X01206010058
Article History:
Received Date: 9/1/2012Revision Received Date: 21/2/2012
Acceptance Date: 2/3/2012
Electronic publication date: 28/6/2012
Collection year: 2012
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background:
Acute neuropathic pain is a common disorder. Transdermal cream could be an alternative to oral medications.
Objective:
To evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of transdermal Lidocaine and Ketamine for acute neuropathic pain.
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review
Setting:
University-affiliated outpatient Physiatry clinic
Methods:
articipants: neuropathic pain with a prescription of a transdermal cream containing Lidocaine and Ketamine. Ef-fectiveness was evaluated by the number of patients with improvement divided by the total number of patients who re-ceived a prescription of the cream.
Results:
A total of 854 patient charts were reviewed. Twenty-one patients with symptoms, signs, and/or a documented di-agnosis of neuropathic pain and had been given a prescription of a transdermal preparation containing Lidocaine and Ketamine. Four groups were identified: those with a clearly stated diagnosis of neuropathic pain and prescribed a transdermal compound containing Lidocaine and Ketamine with follow-up (Group A) or without follow-up (Group B), and those with a suggested diagnosis of neuropathic pain with (Group C) or without follow-up (Group D). Effectiveness of the cream was seven out of eight (87%) for Group A and one out of three (33%) for Group C. In total, eight out of 11 patients (73%) benefited from a cream containing Lidocaine and Ketamine. Two patients experienced skin reactions that led to discontin-uation of treatment.
Limitations:
This is a retrospective chart review without control group.
Conclusion:
Transdermal cream containing Ketamine and Lidocaine was effective in 73% of patients with acute neuro-pathic pain and may be a good alternative to oral medications.
