The DOI matches its Crossref record; 138 of the 139 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Pharmacologic management of neuropathic pain: Evidence-based recommendations
Abstract
Patients with neuropathic pain (NP) are challenging to manage and evidence-based clinical recommendations for pharmacologic management are needed. Systematic literature reviews, randomized clinical trials, and existing guidelines were evaluated at a consensus meeting. Medications were considered for recommendation if their efficacy was supported by at least one methodologically-sound, randomized clinical trial (RCT) demonstrating superiority to placebo or a relevant comparison treatment. Recommendations were based on the amount and consistency of evidence, degree of efficacy, safety, and clinical experience of the authors. Available RCTs typically evaluated chronic NP of moderate to severe intensity. Recommended first-line treatments include certain antidepressants (i.e., tricyclic antidepressants and dual reuptake inhibitors of both serotonin and norepinephrine), calcium channel alpha2-delta ligands (i.e., gabapentin and pregabalin), and topical lidocaine. Opioid analgesics and tramadol are recommended as generally second-line treatments that can be considered for first-line use in select clinical circumstances. Other medications that would generally be used as third-line treatments but that could also be used as second-line treatments in some circumstances include certain antiepileptic and antidepressant medications, mexiletine, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists, and topical capsaicin. Medication selection should be individualized, considering side effects, potential beneficial or deleterious effects on comorbidities, and whether prompt onset of pain relief is necessary. To date, no medications have demonstrated efficacy in lumbosacral radiculopathy, which is probably the most common type of NP. Long-term studies, head-to-head comparisons between medications, studies involving combinations of medications, and RCTs examining treatment of central NP are lacking and should be a priority for future research.
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“Although treatment with antidepressants may be effective in reducing some forms of pain (e.g. those linked to depression or neuropathy) independent of a mood-enhancing effect (Dworkin et al., 2007; McCleane, 2008)”
From Presence and predictors of pain in depression: Results from the FINDER study (2010) · cites this paper as Dworkin et al., 2007
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1 retracted
Anticonvulsant drugs for acute and chronic pain
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RetractedClassification of Chronic Pain: Descriptions of Chronic Pain Syndromes and Definitions of Pain Terms
Merskey, H. (1994) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 3,362
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Gabapentin for the Treatment of Postherpetic Neuralgia A Randomized Controlled Trial
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Algorithm for neuropathic pain treatment: An evidence based proposal
Finnerup, N. B., Otto, M., McQuay, H. J., Jensen, T. S., & Sindrup, S. H. (2005) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2005.08.013 · Cited by 1,337
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis
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Dworkin, R. H., Bačkonja, M., Rowbotham, M. C., Allen, R. R., Argoff, C., Bennett, G. J., Bushnell, M. C., Farrar, J. T., Galer, B. S., Haythornthwaite, J. A., et al. (2003) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.60.11.1524 · Cited by 1,213
Opioid-induced Hyperalgesia: A Qualitative Systematic Review
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Effects of Desipramine, Amitriptyline, and Fluoxetine on Pain in Diabetic Neuropathy
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Pharmacotherapy for neuropathic pain in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Finnerup, N. B., Attal, N., Haroutounian, S., McNicol, E., Baron, R., Dworkin, R. H., Gilron, I., Haanpää, M., Hansson, P., Jensen, T. S., et al. (2015) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(14)70251-0 · Cited by 3,980
Self-citationDiabetic neuropathy: A position statement by the American Diabetes Association
Pop-Busui, R., Boulton, A. J. M., Feldman, E. L., Bril, V., Freeman, R., Malik, R. A., Sosenko, J. M., & Ziegler, D. (2017) · Diabetes Care · doi:10.2337/dc16-2042 · Cited by 2,602
Colloca, L., Ludman, T., Bouhassira, D., Baron, R., Dickenson, A. H., Yarnitsky, D., Freeman, R. L., Truini, A., Attal, N., Finnerup, N. B., et al. (2017) · Nature Reviews Disease Primers · doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.2 · Cited by 2,271
Neuropathic Pain: A Maladaptive Response of the Nervous System to Damage
Costigan, M., Scholz, J., & Woolf, C. J. (2009) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.051508.135531 · Cited by 2,025
EFNS guidelines on the pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain: 2010 revision
Attal, N., Cruccu, G., Baron, R., Haanpää, M., Hansson, P., Jensen, T. S., & Nurmikko, T. (2010) · European Journal of Neurology · doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2010.02999.x · Cited by 1,873
Metadata
- Authors
- Dworkin, R. H., O’Connor, A. B., Backonja, M., Farrar, J. T., Finnerup, N. B., Jensen, T. S., Kalso, E. A., Loeser, J. D., Miaskowski, C., Nurmikko, T. J., Portenoy, R. K., Rice, A. S. C., Stacey, B. R., Treede, R.-D., Turk, D. C., & Wallace, M. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
- Helsinki University Hospital (FI)
- University of Washington (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Mount Sinai Beth Israel (US)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Oregon Health & Science University (US)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Dworkin, Robert H.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 2007-12
- Volume
- 132
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 237-251
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2094310013
- Cited by
- 2,126
- References
- 139
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 53 · 2021: 87 · 2020: 95 · 2019: 103 · 2018: 101 · 2017: 136 · 2016: 141 · 2015: 160 · 2014: 157 · 2013: 171 · 2012: 147
- FWCI
- 13.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Keywords
- neuropathic pain, pharmacological management, antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, gabapentin, pregabalin, topical lidocaine, opioid analgesics, tramadol, antiepileptic drugs, mexiletine, NMDA receptor antagonists, topical capsaicin, lumbosacral radiculopathy, central pain, treatment guidelines
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Health Planning Guidelines, Humans, Neuralgia, Pain, Evidence-Based Medicine
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