The efficacy and safety of gabapentin in carpal tunnel patients: open label trial.

BACKGROUND Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy caused by median nerve compression at the wrist. It results in loss of considerable man days and the effectiveness the various treatment modalities are still debated. AIM To study the efficacy of gabapentin in patients with CTS. The study aim is to investigate the efficacy of gabapentin in patients with CTS patients who were refractory to the other conservative measures or unwilling for the surgical procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty one patients diagnosed as idiopathic CTS were included in the study. Patients were assessed with symptom severity scale (SSS) and functional status scale (FSS) scores of Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) before and at 1, 3, and 6 months of the treatment. Response to therapy was determined by using SSS and FSS scores of BCTQ. RESULTS The median dosage of gabapentin was 1800 mg/daily. Side effects were mild and transient. There was a statistically significant difference in both symptom SSS and FSS scores between before and after treatment in patient groups at the end of six months (P < 0.001). According to grading the changes in subscales of BCTQ, of 41 patients, 34.1 and 29.3 had a >or= 40% decrease in SSS and FSS, respectively. CONCLUSION Gabapentin was found to be partially effective and safe in symptomatic treatment of CTS patients.