Summary Background Neuropathic pain is difficult to treat. New treatments, clinical trials and standards of quality for assessing evidence justify an update of evidence-based recommendations for its pharmacological treatment. Methods The Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group (NeuPSIG) of the International Association for the Study of Pain conducted a systematic review of randomised double-blind studies of oral and topical pharmacotherapy for neuropathic pain, including unpublished trials (retrieved from clinicaltrials.gov and pharmaceutical websites). Meta-analysis used Numbers Needed to Treat (NNT) for 50 % pain relief as primary measure and assessed publication bias. Recommendations used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Findings In total 229 studies were included. Analysis of publication bias suggested a 10% overstatement of treatment effects. Studies published in peer-review journals reported greater effects than online studies (R2=9·3%, p<0·01). Trial outcomes were generally modest even for effective drugs : in particular NNTs were 3·6 (95 % CI 3·0–4·4) for tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), 6·4 (95 % CI 5·2–8·4) for serotonin- noradrenaline reuptake inbibitor (SNRI) antidepressants duloxetine and venlafaxine, 7·7 (95 % CI 6·5–9·4) for pregabalin and 6·3 (95 % CI 5·0–8·3) for gabapentin. NNTs were higher for gabapentin ER/enacarbil and capsaicin high concentration patches, lower for opioids and botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) and undetermined for lidocaine patches. Final quality of evidence was lower for lidocaine patches and BTX-A. Tolerability/safety and values/preferences were high for lidocaine patches and lower for opioids and TCAs. This permitted a strong GRADE recommendation for use and proposal as first line for TCAs, SNRIs, pregabalin, gabapentin and gabapentin ER/enacarbil in neuropathic pain, a weak recommendation for use and proposal as second line for lidocaine patches, capsaicin patches and tramadol, and a weak recommendations for use and proposal as third line for strong opioids (particularly oxycodone and morphine) and BTX-A. Data for cannabinoids, tapentadol, drug combinations, and several other antiepileptics, antidepressants and topical drugs were inconclusive. Interpretation Limited efficacy, large placebo responses, inadequate diagnostic criteria and poor phenotypic profiling probably account for modest trial outcomes and should be taken into account in future studies. Funding This study was funded by NeuPSIG.

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N THE UNITED STATES, AN ESTImated 2 million persons have neuropathic pain. 1 This may result from a large variety of insults to the peripheral or central somatosensory nervous system, including trauma, inflammation, ischemia, and metabolic and neoplastic disorders. Common examples of peripheral neuropathic pain include diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and trigeminal neuralgia. Central neuropathic pain includes central poststroke pain, pain in multiple sclerosis, and post-spinal cord injury pain. The main clinical characteristics of neuropathic pain are continuous or intermittent spontaneous pain, typically described as burning, aching, or shooting in quality, and abnormal sensitivity of the painful site to normally innocuous stimuli such as light touch by garments, running water, or even wind (allodynia). 2 Neuropathic pain, like many other forms of chronic pain, often has negative effects on quality of life. Pharmacotherapy of neuropathic pain has generally involved the use of antidepressants or anticonvulsants, but even with the current generation of these drugs, effective analgesia is achieved in less than half of this population. 3 Clinical trials to assess the efficacy of opioids for reducing neuropathic pain have been reported for more than 15 years. Yet large variability in trial design in terms of the type of the neuropathic pain syndrome treated, the type of opioid administered, and the dura-Context In the United States, an estimated 2 million persons have neuropathic pain that is often resistant to therapy. The use of opioids for neuropathic pain remains controversial, in part because studies have been small, have yielded equivocal results, and have not established the long-term risk-benefit ratio of this treatment.Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of opioid agonists for the treatment of neuropathic pain based on published randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data SourcesWe searched MEDLINE (1966 to December 2004 and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (fourth quarter, 2004) for articles in any language, along with reference lists of reviews and retrieved articles, using a combination of 9 search terms for RCTs with 32 terms for opioids and 15 terms for neuropathic pain.Study Selection Trials were included in which opioid agonists were given to treat central or peripheral neuropathic pain of any etiology, pain was assessed using validated instruments, and adverse events were reported. Studies in which drugs other than opioid agonists were combined with opioids or opioids were administered epidurally or intrathecally were excluded.Data Extraction Data were extracted by 2 independent investigators and included demographic variables, diagnoses, interventions, efficacy, and adverse effects.Data Synthesis Twenty-two articles met inclusion criteria and were classified as shortterm (less than 24 hours; n=14) or intermediate-term (median=28 days; range=8-56 days; n =8) trials. The short-term trials had contradictory results. In contrast, all 8 intermediate-term trials ...

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