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Capsaicin 8 % Patch: A Review in Peripheral Neuropathic Pain

Drugs volume 76, pages 123–134 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

The capsaicin 8 % patch (QUTENZA®) is an adhesive patch containing a high concentration (8 % w/w) of synthetic capsaicin, a selective agonist of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 channel. It is approved for treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain in adults either alone or in combination with other medicinal products for pain in the EU; it is only approved to treat postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in the USA. In patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN), a single 30-min application of the capsaicin 8 % patch significantly improved pain relief and sleep quality compared with placebo in a 12-week double-blind trial. In a 52-week, randomized trial, up to seven consecutive 30-min treatments with the capsaicin 8 % patch (≤7 treatments each at least 8 weeks apart) plus standard of care therapy was associated with sustained pain relief and no negative neurological safety consequences compared with standard of care. In two randomized trials, a single 60-min application of the capsaicin 8 % patch reduced pain scores significantly more than a low-concentration (0.04 %) capsaicin control patch in patients with PHN. Capsaicin 8 % patch treatment was noninferior to pregabalin (optimized dosage) in a randomized trial in patients with nondiabetic peripheral neuropathic pain. Results in two trials in patients with HIV-AN were equivocal, with a significant improvement in pain intensity observed in one trial, but not in the other. The capsaicin 8 % patch was associated with expected, transient, capsaicin-related application-site adverse events such as erythema and pain.

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Acknowledgments

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of the capsaicin 8 % patch was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Celeste B. Burness & Paul L. McCormack

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  1. Celeste B. Burness
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Correspondence to Celeste B. Burness.

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

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Celeste Burness and Paul McCormack are salaried employees of Adis/Springer, are responsible for the article content and declare no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

The manuscript was reviewed by: A. Binder, Department of Neurology, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany; G. Hans, Multidisciplinary Pain Center, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium; L. Reisner, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; J. Sawynok, Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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Burness, C.B., McCormack, P.L. Capsaicin 8 % Patch: A Review in Peripheral Neuropathic Pain. Drugs 76, 123–134 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-015-0520-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-015-0520-9

Keywords

  • Neuropathic Pain
  • Capsaicin
  • Pregabalin
  • Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid
  • Postherpetic Neuralgia