Efficacy of gabapentin for low back pain at a tertiary hospital: A prospective observational study

Objective: To assess the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of low back pain patients. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted over 6 months to assess the efficacy of gabapentin in patients suffering from low back pain. Past medical history, pain severity by Visual Analogue scale (VAS) and sleep quality by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PQSI) were collected. VAS scores and PQSI scores before and after gabapentin treatment were compared, and gabapentin satisfaction post treatment were recorded. Results: This study included 100 low back pain patients with 65 males and 35 females, and the mean age was (39.0±10.5) years. The commonest presentation was non-radiating low back pain (40%). The mean VAS score and the mean PQSI score in the study before treatment were 7.70±1.91 and 10.95±5.02, respectively. After treatment with gabapentin, the mean VAS score and the mean PQSI score decreased to 2.75±1.79 and 4.90±2.20, respectively, and the differences before and after the treatment were significantly different (both P=0.001). Overall, 62% of the patients were extremely satisfied with gabapentin because they reported no adverse drug reaction. Besides, 31% of the patients were satisfied and 7%were strongly dissatisfied with the therapy. Conclusion: Gabapentin can improve sleep quality and reduce lower back pain as measured by the VAS and PQSI. The efficacy of this drug is relatively good, but further improvement is required.