Postsurgical neuropathic pain: lidocaine 700 mg medicated plaster or oral treatments in clinical practice.

Aim: To compare the effectiveness and tolerability of the lidocaine 700 mg medicated plaster (LMP) and oral first-line medications (OM) for the treatment of postsurgical neuropathic pain (PSNP) in routine clinical practice. Patients & methods: Data from a noninterventional, retrospective 24-week cohort study in patients with localized peripheral NP refractory to at least one recommended OM using anonymized German Pain eRegistry data were retrieved. A subgroup analysis was conducted on 531 datasets of PSNP patients. Results: Pain relief, improvements in pain-related impairments of daily living and quality of life, and tolerability were significantly greater under LMP than under OM (p < 0.001 for all parameters). Conclusion: These real-world data show the effectiveness and good tolerability of LMP for PSNP treatment in routine clinical practice.

Surgical procedures may lead to chronic postsurgical neuropathic pain often described as burning or shooting pain. This pain can be treated with medications that are swallowed (oral) or applied to the skin (topical). Our study compared the effectiveness and tolerability of the topical lidocaine 700 mg medicated plaster with oral medications in 531 anonymized patient data sets from a German pain registry. Patients on the lidocaine 700 mg medicated plaster had significantly better pain relief, significantly lower impact of pain on activities of daily life and quality of life and tolerated their treatment significantly better than those on oral medications. The lidocaine 700 mg medicated plaster can be considered as an alternative effective and well-tolerated treatment option for postsurgical neuropathic pain in routine clinical practice.