Efficacy of Opioids and Mexiletine for the Treatment of Postamputation Pain

Summary

Persistent pain occurs in 50-85 percent of patients who experience the amputation of an extremity. This study will compare the effectiveness of morphine and mexiletine to placebo in the treatment of postamputation pain. It is hypothesized that the effects of opioids and mexiletine on behavior and mental functioning in patients with postamputation pain are unlikely to be significant barriers to the clinical use of the drugs.

Timeline

Start

1997-07

Primary completion

—

Completion

2003-04

Outcome

Met primary endpoint

paper Morphine treatment provided lower pain scores compared with placebo and mexiletine (P = 0.0003). PMID 18648238 ↗

Publications

• Wu CL, Agarwal S, Tella PK, Klick B, Clark MR, Haythornthwaite JA, Max MB, Raja SN. Morphine versus mexiletine for treatment of postamputation pain: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Anesthesiology. 2008 Aug;109(2):289-96. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e31817f4523.

Drugs

Indications