Is gabapentin effective and safe in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) affects 2.1-24% of women, causing physical and psychological damage to women around the world. Objectives: Based on the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of chronic pain, we conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in reducing pain in female with CPP. Search strategy: Systematic searches were performed in the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Scopus, Cochrane and Clinicalkey databases. Selection criteria: Studies focused on comparing the efficacy of gabapentin and placebo in the treatment of female CPP patients were included. Data collection and analysis: RevMan 5.4 was used to analyze the results and risk of bias. Two investigators independently selected eligible studies and extracted related pain scores and side effects for meta-analysis. Main results: In total, enrolled 4 RCTs totalling 425 patients in the meta-analysis. Among patients receiving gabapentin, the average pain scores in 3 and 6 months were significantly lower than those in the placebo group(P<0.00001). The results showed that there was no statistical difference between gabapentin and placebo in the reduction of pain scores from baseline(P=0.41). The incidence of side effects in the gabapentin group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group(P<0.00001). Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that for female with CPP, gabapentin was significantly different from placebo in average pain scores at 3 and 6 months. Gabapentin can bring more significant side effects, whether it is a common side effect or a serious side effect. Funding: None.