Predictive Value of Lidocaine for Treatment Success of Oxcarbazepine in Patients with Neuropathic Pain Syndrome

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacotherapy in patients with neuropathic pain syndromes (NPS) can be associated with long periods of trial and error before reaching satisfactory analgesia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a short intravenous (i.v.) infusion of lidocaine may have a predictive value for the efficacy of oxcarbazepine. METHODS: In total, 16 consecutive patients with NPS were studied in a prospective, uncontrolled, open-label study design. Each patient received i.v. lidocaine (5 mg/kg) within 30 min followed by a long-term oral oxcarbazepine treatment (900–1,500 mg/day). During an observation period of 28 days, treatment response was documented by a questionnaire including the average daily pain score documented on a numeric rating scale (NRS). RESULTS: A total of 6 out of 16 patients (38%) were lidocaine responders (defined as pain reduction >50% during the infusion), and 4 of 16 (25%) were oxcarbazepine responders. In total, 6 out of 16 participants (38%) discontinued oxcarbazepine treatment due to side effects. In an interim analysis predictive value of the lidocaine infusion was low with a Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient of 0.29 and coefficient of determination R(2) of 0.119 (95% confidence interval –0.29 to 0.72). As a consequence of this low correlation, the study was discontinued for ethical reasons. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, lidocaine infusion has a low predictive value for effectiveness of oxcarbazepine—if at all.