Efficacy of Pregabalin on Reducing Pain in Patients with Lumbosacral Radiculopathy

Aims: Pregabalin is one of the anti-seizure and analgesic drugs, which is widely used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and chronic radiculopathy in the form of monotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pregabalin drug therapy with common treatment (an NSAID) on reducing pain in patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy. Materials Methods: In this clinical trial, 90 patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy referring to the clinic of Shahid Mofatteh, Yasuj, Iran in 2018, were selected using purposeful convenience sampling and divided into intervention (N=45) and control (N=45) groups. The pain severity was assessed by a standard visual analog scale (VAS). In the intervention group, 100 mg celecoxib every 12 hours, plus 75 mg per day pregabalin, and in the control group, 100 mg celecoxib every 12 hours, plus 75 mg per day pregabalin placebo were prescribed. After 8 weeks, the severity of the pain was again assessed and compared. Findings: At the beginning of the study, the mean pain severity in the intervention and control group did not differ significantly (p 0.05). After the intervention, the mean pain severity between the two groups did not show a significant difference (p 0.05). The severity of the pain did not differ significantly between the two groups of intervention and control according to age, disease history, location of pain, and body weight (p 0.05). Conclusion: The efficacy of pregabalin and NSAID in comparison with NSAID use in patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy is not different in reducing pain severity.Aims: Pregabalin is one of the anti-seizure and analgesic drugs, which is widely used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and chronic radiculopathy in the form of monotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pregabalin drug therapy with common treatment (an NSAID) on reducing pain in patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy.