Combination of Gabapentin and Valacyclovir Reducing the Incidence of Postherpetic Neuralgia:a Randomized Comparative Study

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of treatment with gabapentin plus valacyclovir for the prevention of postherpetic neuralgia in patients with acute herpes zoster.Methods A randomized and comparative study was conducted.69 patients with acute herpes zoster were randomly divided into treatment group(36cases) and control group(33cases).All the patients received valacyclovir hydrochloride.The treatment group received valacyclovir at double dose,at the same time they also received gabapentin.The visual analogue scale(VAS) was used to assess pain and treatment effect before treatment and after treatment 1,4,8 weeks,and the adverse reactions were observed simultaneously.They were followed up by telephone 2 months after treatment discontinuation.Results The obvious effective rate of treatment group was significantly higher than control group(P 0.05).Incidence of Postherpetic Neuralgia in treatment group was lower than that in control group(P 0.05).Conclusion The combination of gabapentin and valacyclovir administered acutely in patients with herpes zoster reduces the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia.