ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the efficacy of modified Sanxue Gegentang combined with nerve block in treating postherpetic neuralgia due to blood stasis syndrome， and explore its possible mechanism. Method:The 120 patients were randomly divided into control group and observation group， with 60 cases in each group. The patients in control group received Dahuang Zhechong tablet + nerve block， and the patients in observation group received modified Sanxue Gegentang + nerve block for 4 weeks. The clinical symptoms （simplified McGill pain scale， overall impression change scale， traditional Chinese medicine symptoms）， serum medium pain ［endothelin-1 （ET-1）， prostaglandin E2 （PGE2）， substance P （SP）， cydooxygenase-2 （COX-2）］， blood viscosity index ［high blood viscosity （HBV）， medium blood viscosity （MBV）， low blood viscosity （LBV）， and plasma viscosity （PV）］ were observed before and after treatment. The clinical efficacy， recurrence rate in 12 months follow-up， and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between two groups. Result:The 5 cases in control group and 1 case in the observation group were lost during the study. The total effective rate in observation group was 96.6%（57/59）， higher than 74.5% （41/55） in control group （χ2=5.729， P<0.05）. As compared with control group after treatment， the McGill pain scale， overall impression change rating scale， main TCM symptom scores， pain medium （ET-1， PGE2， SP， COX-2）， and blood viscosity （HBV， MBV， LBV， PV） were significantly lower in observation group （P<0.05）. In the follow-up for 12 months， the recurrence rate was 7.0% （4/57） in observation group， lower than 43.9% （18/41） in control group （χ2=7.294， P<0.05）. During the study period， the incidence of adverse reactions was 8.5% （5/59） in observation group and 7.3% （4/55） in control group， without significant difference between two groups. Conclusion:Modified Sanxue Gegentang combined with nerve block can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of patients with postherpetic neuralgia due to blood stasis syndrome， showing a low recurrence rate incidence of adverse reactions.