ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To observe the efficacy and safety of amitriptyline combined with carbamazepine in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia(PHN). METHODS:80 patients with PHN were randomly divided into observation group and control group. Control group was orally given Carbamazepine tablets 100 mg,bid,then increased to 100 mg,tid after 3 d. Observation group was additionally given Amitriptyline tablets 12.5 mg every night before bed,d1~3;then increased to 25 mg after 3 d every night be-fore bed,d4~5;and 12.5 mg every morning from 6th d+25 mg every night before bed,and the dose could be adjusted based on the pain and adverse reactions of 2 groups. The treatment course for 2 groups was 4 weeks. Visual analogue scale score(VAS),sleep-ing time,pain disappearing time and clinical efficacy in 2 groups were compared,and the incidence of adverse reactions were re-corded. RESULTS:The total effective rate in observation group was higher than control group,VAS was lower than control group, sleeping time was longer than control group and pain disappearing time was shorter than control group,the differences were statisti-cally significant(P0.05). CON-CLUSIONS:Amitriptyline combined with carbamazepine has obvious efficacy in the treatment of PHN,with good safety.