Trial reportWiener klinische Wochenschrift2015
Prevention of post-herpetic neuralgia using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.
Trial report in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characterising the Features of 381 Clinical Studies Evaluating Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Pain Relief: A Secondary Analysis of the Meta-TENS Study to Improve Future Research.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for neuropathic pain in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Post-Herpetic Neuralgia: Review of Pathophysiology, Mechanisms, and Drug Treatment.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Non-oral pharmacological interventions in the management of herpes zoster-related pain: a review of current research.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Multimodal non-invasive non-pharmacological therapies for chronic pain: mechanisms and progress.BMC medicine · 2023Review
- Therapeutic Strategies for Postherpetic Neuralgia: Mechanisms, Treatments, and Perspectives.Current pain and headache reports · 2023Review
- Pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies for preventing postherpetic neuralgia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.The Korean journal of pain · 2021Article
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Relieving Neuropathic Pain: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Applications.Current pain and headache reports · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPost-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of herpes zoster (HZ) and is difficult to treat. The role of antiviral agents and nonpharmacologic procedures in preventing PHN is not entirely clear. Recent retrospective study showed that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) may completely prevent PHN. The aim of our study was to identify predictors for PHN and evaluate the treatment with antiviral agents and TENS.
methodsWe conducted a multicenter prospective, randomized intervention study in patients with a new onset of HZ. Immunocompromised patients were excluded. Patients were randomly assigned to four groups (TENS, Antiviral agents, TENS and Antiviral agents, and Control Group). At the inclusion, the following criteria were recorded: age, gender, duration of pain before the onset of the rash, the number of efflorescence, the intensity of pain, and the analgesic prescribed. During the follow-up, we recorded a spontaneous pain sensation, pain intensity, and presence of allodynia, hyperalgesia, or paraesthesia.
resultsWith each additional year of age, the odds for the presence of PHN with unchanged values of other predictors increase (odds ratio (OR) = 1.03 [1.01; 1.05], p = 0.001). The same is true for the initial intensity of the pain (OR = 1.25 [1.09; 1.43], p = 0.002). The odds for acute and subacute herpetic neuralgia are greater than for PHN. The odds for subacute herpetic neuralgia are the lowest in the group treated with TENS (OR = 0.15 [0.05; 0.47], p = 0.001).
conclusionsPHN cannot be completely prevented. TENS as a single therapy was found the most successful among the tested treatments in reducing the incidence of subacute herpetic neuralgia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.