• Diana Butkovic, Sanja Toljan, and Beata Mihovilovic-Novak.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Reanimation and Intensive Care, Children's Hospital Zagreb, Klaiceva, Zagreb, Croatia. diana.butkovic1@zg.htnet.hr
• Paediatr Anaesth. 2006 Mar 1;16(3):325-9.

AbstractSummary Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug indicated for the treatment of partial seizures in children. Many studies have proved its analgesic action in the treatment of neuropathic pain in adults and we have noticed an analgesic action of gabapentin in neuropathic pain in children. Five patients treated in the Children's Hospital Pain Control Service for intractable neuropathic pain were included in gabapentin treatment. Four were cancer patients and one suffered from neuropathic pain in the neck (C3). The visual analog scale (VAS) scores of pain were compared before and during treatment with gabapentin. We noticed a rapid improvement, in 1 week, of our patients' VAS scores (from 9 or 10 to 4 or 3) with minimal adverse effects. In the follow-up period of 6 months we gradually reduced the dose of gabapentin. Our findings are that gabapentin should be included earlier in the treatment of neuropathic pain in adolescents, because it rapidly improves analgesia and has minimal side effects.

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