Comprehensive analgesic technique for herpes zoster neuralgia

  Acute herpes zoster, commonly known as “herpes zoster” and “herpes zoster”, is a disease characterized by severe pain that occurs in the elderly and those with reduced immunity. Herpes is characterized by severe pain, usually in the elderly and people with reduced immunity. Patients are highly sensitive to pain and the pain level is abnormally intense, and it is called the “king of pain” along with trigeminal neuralgia. The duration of postherpetic neuralgia can be as short as 1 to 2 years or as long as 10 years.  There is no method to completely eliminate herpes zoster neuralgia. After several years of research and practice, the Pain Center of Southwest Hospital has developed a set of sequential comprehensive analgesic measures, which can significantly relieve the pain of about 90% of patients with postherpetic neuralgia through 1-3 months of continuous treatment, and finally reach a situation where daily life is tolerable, significantly improving the quality of life of patients.  The core of our set of sequential comprehensive analgesic measures is to actively adjust certain local drug regimens and doses of the comprehensive measures according to the patient’s response to treatment, and to use neuromodulation and neurodestructive treatments when appropriate.  The specific protocol includes several aspects: 1. Systemic adequate dosing: including early onset antiviral drugs, neurotrophic drugs. The primary drugs are, neurofilm stabilizing doses, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs and central analgesic drugs, and the secondary drugs are sedative and anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, immunomodulators and gastrointestinal function regulating drugs.  2.Early regional nerve block anti-inflammatory and analgesic: subcutaneous infiltration injection of nerve block anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs as early as possible during the acute phase of herpes, and intradermal injection of nerve block anti-inflammatory and analgesic and immunomodulatory agents after the lesion is healed.  3, timely paravertebral nerve root block and sympathetic nerve block: injection of therapeutic drugs around the nerve roots in the paravertebral foramen area of the spine or use of the corresponding sympathetic nerve segment block can both effectively provide clinical analgesia and avoid the systemic risks of intra-vertebral puncture injection, especially repeated operations.  4.Topical drugs and phototherapy: some patients use topical osmotic anti-inflammatory analgesics, local anesthetics and phototherapy in between regional injections.  5.Actively recommend the use of intradural spinal cord electrical stimulation analgesic technique: SCS is an advanced method promoted in the world, but it has not been used much in China due to high cost.  6, prudent implementation of nerve destruction techniques: try a variety of neuromodulation therapy if it does not effectively relieve the patient’s pain, implement radiofrequency ablation of nerve roots and chemical destruction techniques according to the onset site and the patient’s needs, block nerve conduction function for a long time, and improve the overall quality of life.  7, pay attention to psychological counseling and treatment: long-term severe pain patients are accompanied by varying degrees of psychological disorders, such as anxiety, tension, depression, abnormal personality characteristics and even suicidal tendencies, if drug therapy or nerve block alone, there is no significant effect on this type of pain, must be supplemented with the corresponding effective psychological treatment. Our psychological counseling includes the improvement of the patient’s environment and living conditions, the role of the surrounding people’s language, special arrangements and specialized psychotherapeutic techniques implemented by the physician.