Is gabapentin effective and safe in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Int Urogynecol J 2022;
33:1071-1081. [PMID:
35013759 DOI:
10.1007/s00192-021-05017-0]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS
Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) affects 2.1-24% of women, causing physical and psychological damage to women around the world. Based on the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of chronic pain, we conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in reducing pain in women with CPP.
METHODS
Systematic searches were performed in the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and Clinicalkey databases. Studies focused on comparing the efficacy of gabapentin and placebo in the treatment of female CPP patients were included. RevMan 5.4 was used to analyze the results and risk of bias. Two investigators independently selected eligible studies and extracted related pain scores and side effects for meta-analysis.
RESULTS
In total, 4 RCTs were enrolled in the meta-analysis, totaling 425 patients. Among patients receiving gabapentin, the average pain scores in 3 and 6 months were significantly lower than those in the placebo group(p < 0.00001). The results showed that there was no statistical difference between gabapentin and placebo in the reduction of pain scores from baseline(p = 0.41). The incidence of side effects in the gabapentin group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group (p < 0.00001).
CONCLUSION
This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that for women with CPP, gabapentin was significantly different from placebo in average pain scores at 3 and 6 months. However, the two drugs did not differ in the reduction in pain scores from baseline. Gabapentin can bring more significant side effects, whether they are common side effects or serious side effects.
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