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Gabapentin is approved for treating postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) after shingles, based on clinical trials in which it was started only when pain had persisted for at least 3 months. In this new uncontrolled study, researchers sought to determine whether early gabapentin therapy prevents PHN.
The study involved 133 immunocompetent patients (age, ≥50) with acute herpes zoster and pain scores >3 (on a 10-point scale). All patients received 1-week courses of valacyclovir, and all received gabapentin for at least 4 weeks (starting at 300 mg daily and titrating to 1200 mg 3 times daily, if tolerated). If patients' pain scores remained >3 at 4 weeks, gabapentin was continued for 4 additional weeks.
The proportion of patients with any pain (score, >0…