Clinical

The Capsaicin 8% Patch For Peripheral Neuropathic Pain

Abstract

Neuropathic pain is thought to affect up to 8% of the adult population in the UK. The condition can severely impact on patients' quality of life and can be difficult to treat. The capsaicin 8% patch has been developed to directly target the source of peripheral neuropathic pain and has been shown to provide pain relief for up to 3 months from a single 30- or 60-minute application. Adherence to the capsaicin 8% patch application procedure is important to achieve effective treatment. The authors are a group of health professionals experienced in using the capsaicin 8% patch. In this article the authors describe the optimal patch application procedure from their real-world clinical experience and provide recommendations on how to optimize the therapeutic benefit of the patch. Other key aspects of the application procedure are also addressed, including the importance of patient management, the ideal treatment setting, the best way to manage application-associated discomfort and post-treatment care. The observations and learning that the authors have gained from their clinical experience with the capsaicin 8% patch will help others to maximize the benefit gained with this novel treatment option.

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11 August 2011Volume 20Issue 15

ISSN (print): 0966-0461
ISSN (online): 2052-2819

Metrics

History

Accepted 1 July 2011

Published online 16 August 2013

Published in print 11 August 2011

Information

Keywords

Acknowledgements Editorial assistance was provided by Adelphi Communications Ltd, supported by Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.

Conflicts of interest: JE, TW and K-UK have all received speaker and consultancy fees from Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., while AR-D and AS have received consultancy fees from Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.

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