Leech Therapy for Postherpetic Neuralgia

Terminated

• Conditions: Postherpetic Neuralgia
• Interventions: Procedure: Leech therapy

• Registration Number: NCT01744522
• Lead Sponsor: Universität Duisburg-Essen

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate, whether leech therapy for the treatment of postherpetic pain improves pain and sensory function.

Therefore 20 patients with PHN undergoing leech therapy at the investigators outpatient clinic will be included in this observational trial.

Detailed Description

see above

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2012-09
• Study First Submitted: 2012-12-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2012-12-05
• Study First Posted: 2012-12-06
• Status Verified: 2014-04
• Primary Completion: 2014-04
• Study Completion: 2014-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2014-04-10
• Last Update Posted: 2014-04-11

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: TERMINATED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 6

Inclusion Criteria

• 18 to 85 years of age
• >6 months thoracal postherpetic neuralgia
• informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

• if leech therapy is contraindicated
• physical and mental disability to participate in the study examinations

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Leech therapy	Leech therapy	Patients receiving leech therapy in the outpatient clinic

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain intensity	28 days	Pain intensity measured on a visual analogue scale (0-100mm, 100mm indicating worst pain imaginable)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
quality of life	3 months	quality of life measured by the SF36
Safety	28 days	all adverse and serious adverse events
Pain quality	3 months	sensory and affective dimensions of pain (measured by the McGill Pain Questionnaire)
Pain intensity	3 months	pain intensity on a 100mm Visual Analogue Scale
Impairment	3 months	functional impairment due to zoster pain, measured bey the zoster brief pain inventory and the zoster impact questionnaire (Coplan P, Schmader K, Nikas A, Chan I, Choo P, Levin M, Johnson G, Bauer M, Williams HM, Kapla KM, Guess HA, Oxman MN. (2004). Development of a measure of the burden of pain due to herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia for prevention trials: adaptation of the brief pain inventory. J Pain, 5(6), 344-356.)
Quality of life	28 days	quality of life measured by the SF36
Sensory perception and pain thresholds	3 months	Sensory perception and pain thresholds measured by the quantitative sensory testing battery (Rolke, R., Magerl, W., Campbell, K. A., Schalber, C., Caspari, S., Birklein, F. and Treede, R.-D. (2006), Quantitative sensory testing: a comprehensive protocol for clinical trials. European Journal of Pain, 10: 77.)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Chair of Complementary and Integrative Medicine; 🇩🇪 Essen, Germany