Drug Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Chole, Revant; Patil, Ranjitkumar; Degwekar, Shirish S.; Bhowate, Rahul R.

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2005.12.063

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Volume 65, Issue 1 , Pages 40-45, January 2007

Drug Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Revant Chole, MDS-III
- Postgraduate Resident, Department of Oral Diagnosis, Medicine and Radiology, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Chole: Department of Oral Diagnosis, Medicine and Radiology, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Ranjitkumar Patil, MDS
- Associate Professor and Guide, Department of Oral Diagnosis, Medicine and Radiology, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
Shirish S. Degwekar, MDS
- Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Oral Diagnosis, Medicine and Radiology, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
Rahul R. Bhowate, MDS
- Professor, Department of Oral Diagnosis, Medicine and Radiology, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra, India.

Purpose

This study undertook a systematic review of the literature on drug treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

Methods

An electronic search was carried out for articles published between January 1960 to February 2005. Studies with high level of evidence were included. The levels of evidence of the articles were classified after the guidelines of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine.

Results

Of 770 publications, only 21 publications showed a high level of evidence (6 randomized controlled trials and 15 clinical trials/controlled clinical trials), with a total of 348 patients. A total of 749 publications were not included in the review as they showed a low level of evidence.

Conclusions

Anticonvulsants are effective in treating trigeminal neuralgia; however, few studies with high levels of evidence were found. It is quite difficult to compare or even combine their outcomes in a scientifically meaningful manner. Due to insufficient research data, there is a need for high-quality randomized controlled trials in this area of medicine.