Philip J Wiffen

TL;DR: Evaluated trials provide level A evidence for the efficacy of tricyclic antidepressants, gabapentin, pregabalin and opioids, with a large number of class I trials, followed by topical lidocaine and the newer antidepressants venlafaxine and duloxetine.

TL;DR: Antidepressants are effective in relieving neuropathic pain and it is still unclear which drug class should be first choice, with very similar results for anticonvulsants.

TL;DR: This update has provided additional confirmation on the effectiveness of antidepressants for neuropathic pain and has provided new information on another antidepressant - venlafaxine.

TL;DR: Weak evidence suggests that patients who are able to continue opioids long-term experience clinically significant pain relief, and whether quality of life or functioning improves is inconclusive, due to an insufficient quantity of evidence for oral administration studies and inconclusive statistical findings for transdermal and intrathecal administration studies.

TL;DR: Systematic review of randomised controlled trials of anticonvulsants for acute, chronic, or cancer pain identified by using Medline, by hand searching, by searching reference lists, and by contacting investigators found anticonVulsants were effective for trigeminal neuralgia and diabetic neuropathy and for migraine prophylaxis.