Gabapentin as an adjuvant treatment for post-herpetic neuralgia in the neck, shoulder and facial shingles and its effect on T lymphocyte

Objective To analyze the effect of gabapentin(GBP) assisted with satellite ganglion blocks(SGB) on post herpetic neuralgia(PHN) of neck, shoulder and facial shingles and its effect on T lymphocyte. Methods A total of 66 neck, shoulder and facial shingles PHN patients diagnosed in our hospital were selected from May 2016 to August 2017, who were randomly divided into observation group(n=33) and control group(n=33) according to the random number table method. The control group was treated with SGB, and the observation group was treated with GBP based on the control group. The clinical effect, pain degree, and the level of plasma β-endorphin, the level of T lymphocyte subsets were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of clinical treatment in observation group was obviously higher than that of control group(P<0.05). Before treatment, there were no significantly differences in the score of visual analogue scale(VAS), the level of plasma β-endorphin, the level of CD3⁺, CD4⁺ and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ between the two groups(all P>0.05). After treatment, the VAS scores of two groups were obviously lower than that of before treatment(P<0.05), and the observation group was obviously lower than the control group(P<0.05). The level of plasma β-endorphin, CD3⁺, CD4⁺ and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ were obviously higher than those of before treatment(all P<0.05), and the observation group was obviously higher than the control group(all P<0.05). Conclusion The effect of GBP assisted with SGB is significant in the treatment of PHN of neck, shoulder and facial shingles, and it can improve the level of T lymphocyte, with high clinical application value.