Objective To study the clinical effects of gabapentin on the treatment of pruritus of scar resulting from deep partial–thickness burn.
Methods A total of fifty–eight patients suffering from pruritus of scar after deep partial–thickness burn were hospitalized from January 2013 to January 2014. Patients were divided into placebo group (
n=18, treated with oral vitamin C in the dose of 100 mg for 4 weeks, twice per day), cetirizine group (
n=20, treated with oral cetirizine in the dose of 10 mg for 4 weeks, twice per day), and gabapentin group (
n=20, treated with oral gabapentin in the dose of 300 mg for 4 weeks, twice per day). Before treatment and on post treatment day (PTD) 3 and 28, the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to assess the itching degree, and the mean scores were recorded. The remission rates of pruritus on PTD 3 and 28 were calculated. The adverse effects were observed during treatment. Data were processed with analysis of variance,
q test, and chi–square test.
Results Compared with that before treatment, the itching degree of patients with light, moderate, and severe itching in placebo group was not relieved after treatment; the itching degree of patients with moderate or severe itching in cetirizine group was alleviated after treatment, but not in patients with light itching; itching degree of all patients in gabapentin group was significantly relieved after treatment. There were no obvious differences in VAS scores among the 3 groups before treatment (
F=2.78,
P>0.05). On PTD 3 and 28, the VAS scores of patients in both gabapentin group [(2.3±0.8) and (0.6±0.3) points] and cetirizine group [(4.2±1.7) and (2.8±1.2) points] were lower than those in placebo group [(5.7±2.0) and (5.7±1.9) points, with
q values from 6.70 to 7.75,
P values below 0.05]. The VAS scores of patients in gabapentin group on PTD 3 and 28 were lower than those in cetirizine group (with
q values respectively 6.30 and 6.90,
P values below 0.05). The remission rates of pruritus of patients in gabapentin group on PTD 3 and 28 were respectively (66±20)% and (91±17)%, and they were higher than those in cetirizine group [(33±8)% and (56±14)%, with
q values respectively 4.70 and 3.82,
P values below 0.05]. The remission rate of pruritus of patients in placebo group on PTD 3 and 28 was 0, which was lower than that of the other 2 groups each (with
q values from 3.94 to 6.76,
P values below 0.05). During the course of treatment, 5 patients in gabapentin group suffered from adverse effects including mild–to–moderate drowsiness and dizziness, but they disappeared one week later. No adverse effects were observed in patients of the other two groups.
Conclusions For patients with deep partial–thickness burn, gabapentin can effectively alleviate scar itching after wound healing with safety.
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