The Authors report a clinical multicentre experience with antidepressant agents (trazodone and amitriptyline) in the treatment of chronic cancer pain with deafferentation component. Forty-five patients were admitted to the study: 27 with oncological peripheral nerve lesions, 6 with post herpetic neuralgias, 10 with not oncological nerve lesions, 2 with central nervous lesions. Almost all of them were already being treated with NSAID associated with weak or strong opioids. A random double blind study was performed: 23 patients were treated with trazodone, 22 with amitriptyline. In the assessment of results, pain intensity, hours of sleep, hours standing and lying, side effects, mood, anxiety, weakness were all taken into consideration. The therapeutic analgesic efficacy of the two drugs proved to be similar.

Antidepressants for cancer pain and other painful syndromes with deafferentation component: comparison of amitriptyline and trazodone / V. Ventafridda, C. Bonezzi, A. Caraceni, F. De Conno, G. Guarise, G. Ramella, L. Saita, V. Silvani, M. Tamburini, F. Toscani. - In: ITALIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES. - ISSN 0392-0461. - 8:6(1987), pp. 579-587. [10.1007/BF02333665]

Antidepressants for cancer pain and other painful syndromes with deafferentation component: comparison of amitriptyline and trazodone

A. Caraceni;L. Saita;
1987

Abstract

The Authors report a clinical multicentre experience with antidepressant agents (trazodone and amitriptyline) in the treatment of chronic cancer pain with deafferentation component. Forty-five patients were admitted to the study: 27 with oncological peripheral nerve lesions, 6 with post herpetic neuralgias, 10 with not oncological nerve lesions, 2 with central nervous lesions. Almost all of them were already being treated with NSAID associated with weak or strong opioids. A random double blind study was performed: 23 patients were treated with trazodone, 22 with amitriptyline. In the assessment of results, pain intensity, hours of sleep, hours standing and lying, side effects, mood, anxiety, weakness were all taken into consideration. The therapeutic analgesic efficacy of the two drugs proved to be similar.
antidepressants; Cancer pain; deafferentation pain
Settore MED/06 - Oncologia Medica
Settore MED/09 - Medicina Interna
1987
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/910946
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