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Lumbar Sympathetic Block for Intractable Lower‐Limb Postherpetic Neuralgia: Report of Two Cases
Author(s) -
Ozturk Ekim Can,
Sencan Savas,
Gunduz Osman Hakan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pain practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1533-2500
pISSN - 1530-7085
DOI - 10.1111/papr.12958
Subject(s) - medicine , postherpetic neuralgia , lumbar , anesthesia , nerve block , neuralgia , lower limb , physical therapy , neuropathic pain , surgery
Lumbar sympathetic block is a commonly used technique for sympathetically mediated pain syndromes. Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is also accepted to be associated with sympathetic system activation. While sympathetic blocks were utilized for upper‐extremity or face‐related PHN, there has not been any report regarding lower‐extremity PHN, as it is an uncommon region. Here, we present two cases of systemic drug‐resistant PHN in lower limb, relieved with lumbar sympathetic block. Both patients had at least 50% reduction in numeric rating scale (NRS) scores at the end of 6 months. Lumbar sympathetic block could be considered in the treatment of lower‐limb PHN. More reports and controlled trials are needed for further understanding the role of the intervention in this neuropathic pain syndrome.