The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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This retrospective study was designed to assess the effects of acyclovir treatment of acute herpes zoster on subsequent postherpetic neuralgia, and to examine the effects of amitriptyline in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. Eighty seven patients with postherpetic neuralgia of three or more months' duration were studied: 24 of them had had their herpes zoster treated with oral acyclovir. At first presentation, only 25% of the 24 patients who had had their herpes zoster treated with acyclovir selected the word group containing burning on the McGill pain questionnaire compared with 76% of the 63 patients who had not received acyclovir. ⋯ Postherpetic neuralgia was treated with amitriptyline, alone or in combination with distigmine and/or sodium valproate. There was a strong correlation between pain relief and the interval between the occurrence of herpes zoster and the initiation of treatment with amitriptyline--early treatment is almost twice as likely to be successful as late. Since conventional analgesics and sympatholytic drugs are of no benefit in the treatment of established postherpetic neuralgia, the sequelae of herpes zoster must, therefore, be recognized and treated with amitriptyline as soon as possible.
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In 1983-84 general practitioners in the Oxford region kept records of their referrals to outpatient clinics over a period of six months. Five years later in 1988-89 the general practice notes of 182 patients referred for back pain were studied to determine the outcomes of their referral. The actions initiated in the outpatient clinics were compared with the general practitioners' main reason for referral recorded at the time of referral. ⋯ The referral system for patients with chronic back pain could be rationalized to reduce the need for re-referrals and multiple follow-up outpatient consultations. There is a need to improve communications between general practitioners, specialists and patients about the purpose of referral, the likely effects of treatment and the scope for prevention. A survey of the outcome of referrals for common conditions, such as back pain, is a useful first step in the development of referral guidelines.