Comparison of efficacy and safety of pregabalin and duloxetine in patients with diabetic neuropathic pain: A double-blind clinical study

Introduction: Neuropathic pain is defined as a hypersensitivity to pain and spontaneous pain in involvement with damage to or a lesion of nervous system. Various drugs are recommended for treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain which includes norepinephrine and serotonin and reuptake inhibitors, namely duloxetine, α-2δ ligands, namely pregabalin and gabapentin, tricyclic antidepressants, and opioid derivatives. The present study was designed to compare the safety and efficacy of duloxetine and pregabalin in the patients with diabetic neuropathic pain. Materials and Methods: The study was a prospective, randomized, and double-blind study. The 100 patients were selected and divided into two groups, each group was having 50 patients. Group I was receiving 60 mg of duloxetine once daily (O.D) and Group II was receiving 150 mg of pregabalin O.D. for 12 weeks. The efficacy of the drugs in diabetic neuropathic patients was assessed using following parameters: Diabetic neuropathic 4 (DN4) pain questionnaire, C-reactive protein (CRP), visual analog scale (VAS), and vibration perception threshold (VPT). Results: In the present study, the patients obtained a better pain reduction in the group which was treated with pregabalin compared with duloxetine using VAS and DN4. However, there is no significant difference in VPT and CRP scores in both groups. Conclusion: Hence, the present study concluded that pregabalin therapy has better efficacy for reducing neuropathic pain than duloxetine.