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Post-herpetic Neuralgia: a Review

  • Other Pain (N Vadivelu and A Kaye, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Pain and Headache Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 22 March 2016

Abstract

Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a chronic neuropathic pain condition that persists 3 months or more following an outbreak of shingles. Shingles, also known as acute herpes zoster, is associated with the reactivation of the dormant varicella zoster virus in an individual who has experienced chicken pox. PHN is associated with persistent and often refractory neuropathic pain. Patients may experience multiple types of pain including a constant deep, aching, or burning pain; a paroxysmal, lancinating pain; hyperalgesia (painful stimuli are more painful than expected); and allodynia (pain associated with typically non-painful stimuli). The pharmacological treatment of PHN may include a variety of medications including alpha-2 delta ligands (gabapentin and pregabalin), other anticonvulsants (carbamazepine), tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, nortriptyline, doxepin), topical analgesics (5 % lidocaine patch, capsaicin) tramadol, or other opioids. The considerable side effect profiles of the commonly used oral medications often limit their practical use, and a combination of both topical and systemic agents may be required for optimal outcomes. Physicians and other treatment providers must tailor treatment based on the response of individual patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Room 656, 1542 Tulane Ave., New Orleans, LA, USA

    Graham R. Hadley, Julie A. Gayle, Juan Ripoll, Mark R. Jones & Alan D. Kaye

  2. Department of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Comprehensive Pain Center, Albany Medical Center, 43 New Scotland Avenue, MC 70, Albany, NY, USA

    Charles E. Argoff

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, USA

    Rachel J. Kaye

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  1. Graham R. Hadley
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  2. Julie A. Gayle
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  4. Mark R. Jones
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  7. Alan D. Kaye
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Correspondence to Alan D. Kaye.

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Conflict of Interest

Graham R. Hadley, Julie A. Gayle, Juan Ripoll, Mark R. Jones, Rachel J. Kaye, and Alan D. Kaye declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Charles E. Argoff declares personal fees for consultant work for Pfizer, Depomed, and XenoPort and honoraria from Depomed and XenoPort.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Other Pain

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Hadley, G.R., Gayle, J.A., Ripoll, J. et al. Post-herpetic Neuralgia: a Review. Curr Pain Headache Rep 20, 17 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-016-0548-x

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