Citation

Whizar-Lugo VM, Carrada-Perez S, Islas-Velasco J. Revista Mexicana de Anestesiologia 1996; 19(4): 183-193.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Postherpetic neuralgia remains a serious complication of herpes tester. It produces very severe and disabling pain. Patients suffering this uncomfortable pain seek help at the pain clinics. but there is little hope that they will lessen their pain, and improve their quality of life. In fact these persons are in a high risk group of suicide. Once the patient develops postherpetic neuralgic pain, there in no treatment that can cure the pain 100 percent, or decrease it to the point of making life worth to live. In acute herpes tester, the most important think to do, is not to treat acute pain, but to prevent the persistence of severe pain. The concept that nerve blocks done with local anesthetics changes the natural history of acute herpes tester is controversial. Some groups of investigators and pain clinicians agree that the sympathetic nerve blocks done in the early stage of shingles are very useful to treat acute pain and to prevent postherpetic neuralgia. On the other hand, there are some articles showing no usefulness of these procedures to prevent the development of postherpetic neuralgia. Most of the researchers conclude that sympathetic nerve blocks are part of the armamentarium to treat acute pain due to shingles, and that these blocks offer no advantages to treat chronic neuralgic postherpetic pain.

Language: es

Keywords

review; postherpetic neuralgia; local anesthetic agent; herpes zoster; Acute Herpes zoster; Postherpetic neuralgia; Sympathetic blockade; sympathetic blocking