Gabapentin as a drug therapy of intractable hiccup because of vascular lesion: a three-year follow up.
BACKGROUND
Persistent and intractable hiccups indicate multiple neurologic and extraneurologic disorders. Chronic hiccup is not so rare in patients suffering from stroke: its impact on quality of life and on rehabilitation management is substantial, and it may be closely related to aspiration pneumonia, respiratory arrest and nutritional depletion.


RESULTS
Intractable hiccups can be associated with potentially fatal consequences and safe management may require inpatient rehabilitation. It has been suggested that hiccups could be a form of myoclonus, caused by repeated and abnormal activity of the solitary inspiratory nucleus. Because of this cause we decided to treat intractable hiccups in patients with ischemic lesions of the medulla with a short course of gabapentin.


CONCLUSIONS
The results were promising, with the immediate disappearance of the hiccups, and the complete absence of side effects. The 36-months follow up was favorable to all the patients, who, after 6 days of treatment remain asymptomatic.
Dipartimento di Fisiologia e Patologia, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Italy. moretti@univ.trieste.it
Rita
R
Moretti
Paola
P
Torre
Rodolfo M
RM
Antonello
Maja
M
Ukmar
Giuseppe
G
Cazzato
Antonio
A
Bava
D000085:Acetates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D000588:Amines; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D000077206:Gabapentin; D006606:Hiccup / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
D000085:Acetates; D000588:Amines; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000077206:Gabapentin