The use of naltrexone in the treatment of chronic pain: a systematic review.
Victor Rassi-MarianiEduardo Silva Reis BarretoCésar Romero AntunesVinicius Borges AlencarLiliane Elze Falcão Lins-KustererLiana Maria Torres Araujo AziDurval Campos KraychetePublished in: Pain management (2024)
This study aims to assess the efficacy of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in treating chronic pain. We conducted a systematic review using the PICO strategy: (P) Patients with chronic pain, (I) Use of oral naltrexone, (C) Placebo or active drug and (O) Pain relief and quality of life. We included articles from PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane CENTRAL and EMBASE databases. Seven randomized clinical trials involving 406 patients were analyzed. The doses ranging from 2 to 4.5 mg once daily across all studies. Various chronic pain conditions were evaluated. The results suggest that low-dose naltrexone is not effective in managing chronic pain and improving the quality of life in patients with diverse chronic pain conditions. However, further research with larger sample sizes and standardized methodologies is necessary.
Keyphrases
- chronic pain
- low dose
- pain management
- end stage renal disease
- alcohol use disorder
- chronic kidney disease
- high dose
- newly diagnosed
- randomized controlled trial
- clinical trial
- emergency department
- prognostic factors
- double blind
- spinal cord injury
- combination therapy
- big data
- case control
- phase iii
- postoperative pain
- patient reported