Broad‐band ultraviolet B phototherapy in zoster patients may reduce the incidence and severity of postherpetic neuralgia

Abstract

UVB phototherapy in the acute stage of zoster rash might reduce the incidence and severity of PHN. Treatment after 3 months does not seem to have a significant beneficial effect.

Comparing Prodrugs with Acyclovir for Treating Postherpetic Neuralgia among Herpes Zoster Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Figure 1 presents the process by which we identified 302 relevant studies in the four databases. After removing the duplicates, we screened 223 studies based on the titles and contents of the abstracts and excluded 214 that did not meet our inclusion criteria, leaving nine for further evaluation [ 43 , 52 , 53 , 67 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 ]. After examining the full texts of these articles, we excluded four clinical trials [ 50 , 76 , 77 , 80 ] because of a lack of a comparison group or of clarity regarding the number of PHN patients who received acyclovir.…”

“…McGill and White (1994) also reported that acyclovir could prevent the incidence of PHN [69]. However, other studies found that acyclovir did not prevent PHN [42,45,[70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82]. Beyond antiviral agents, as mentioned, there have also been reports that tricyclic antidepressants, topical capsaicin, gabapentin, oxycodone, pregabalin, long-acting opioids, and tramadol alleviated PHN, though the long-term and clinical benefits of these treatments remain uncertain [28,83].…”