Non-Surgical Treatments of Trigeminal Neuralgia from the Perspective of a Pain Physician: A Narrative Review
Jin Young Lee,
Gil Ho Lee,
Seung Hyun Yi,
Woo Seog Sim,
Bae Wook Kim,
Hue Jung Park
Affiliations
Jin Young Lee
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea
Gil Ho Lee
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea
Seung Hyun Yi
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea
Woo Seog Sim
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea
Bae Wook Kim
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
Hue Jung Park
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a unilateral disorder characterized by electric shock-like pain, abrupt onset and termination, and limited to one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve. Various therapeutic modalities for TN have been introduced. We searched for literature indexed in PubMed, Medline, and the National Library of Medicine and reviewed all relevant articles on non-surgical treatments for TN. Published studies were reviewed with no restrictions on date; reviews, clinical trials, animal studies, retrospective studies, and cases were included. Carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine are the recommended first-line pharmacotherapies. Interventional treatments should be considered when pharmacotherapy is insufficient or withdrawn because of adverse effects.
