[Venlafaxine extended release for the treatment of chronic pain. A series of 50 cases].
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study is to investigate analgesic effectiveness and safety of venlafaxine extended release in chronic pain of any etiology.


METHODS
Six month, observational, open study, carried out in two pain units. Initially, a daily dose of 75 mg of venlafaxine extended release was administered, increasing it to 150 mg, following clinical criteria. Treatment response was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), rest and mobilization, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and an adverse event sheet to record adverse events occurring during the study.


RESULTS
The study was carried out in a 50 patient sample with a mean age of 57.1 +/- 1.8 years, with chronic pain. A total of 85-90 % of the patients was maintained with a daily dose of 75 mg of venlafaxine extended release. This produced a gradual reduction of the VAS scores at rest (significant reduction of 5.2 +/- 1.1 to 2.7 +/- 1.5 points; (p<0.0005) and mobilization (significant reduction of 5.5 +/- 0.8 to 3.1 +- 1.6 points; p<0.0005). Pain relief increased progressively. Regarding physical activity measured by the ECOG scale, there was a reduction of the percentage of patients and increase of outpatients. Tolerability to venlafaxine was "excellent", "very good" or "good" for 72% of the patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Extended release venlafaxine can be an effective and well-tolerated treatment in patients with chronic pain of any etiology, although it must be investigated in depth.
Gálvez
R
R
Unidad de Dolor, Servicio de Anstesia, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada. rgalvez@fundacionhvn.org
Caballero
J
J
Atero
M
M
Ruiz
S
S
Romero
J
J
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003511:Cyclohexanols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000069470:Venlafaxine Hydrochloride
D003511:Cyclohexanols; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D000069470:Venlafaxine Hydrochloride