Study of the efficacy of Gabapentin as an adjuvant drug for relieving pain in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Aim and background: the adjuvant analgesic drugs represent a diverse group of drugs that were not originally developed for analgesia of pain, but for other medical usage such as antiepileptic drugs, so they are not categorized as analgesic drug, But it has been discovered that they have analgesic effect when given in combination with classic analgesic such as NSAIDs. This study was designed to investigate the effect of Gabapentin (antiepileptic drug), in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis as adujvant drugs with Diclofenc or ibuprofen.

Material and Methods: the study was performed using questionnaire as a tool for data. It involves 110 patients suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis (R.A) and those patients have a poor response to NSAIDs (Diclofenc or ibuprofen). They were received Gabapentin  with a dose of 600 mg/ day for period of two months. By the end of this period the pain was evaluated by using Numeric rating scale (NRS) and face expression.

Results and Discussion: Gabapentin  as a combination with Diclofenac or ibuprofen exhibited a profound analgesic effect in patients with R.A, especially those with moderate pain (degree 4-6), 35% of those were shifted to low section of pain scale (degree 0-3) after two months of Gabapentin administration, (P ≤ 0.05).

This combination therapy performed an overall enhancement for patients by 74.75 %. Only 24.45% patients did not show any benefits. The weight of patients had a role in response (P= 0.018). But for patients weighed above 100 kg the response was poor . Data showed that gender difference has no effect. 

Conclusion: Gabapentin has a profound efficacy in alleviating pain as adjuvant drug for patients with Rheumatoid arthritis who had a poor response for Diclofenac or ibuprofen, after a period of two months.

Key words: Adjuvant Drug, Gabapentin, Rheumatoid Arthritis.