Efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of gabapentin (GBP) in the treatment of pain of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (TN). A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (EBSCO Industries), Emcare (Ovid), Medline (Ovid), Medline (PubMed), Scopus (Elsevier) and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics). The inclusion criteria comprised randomized controlled trials of GBP as a monotherapy in the treatment of idiopathic TN in adult participants and publications in English. All other study methodologies were excluded. The search yielded 1472 articles, and after exclusion, 11 full-text articles were eligible for full-text analysis. Only two studies met the inclusion criteria. There is insufficient evidence either to support or refute the efficacy of GBP in the management of idiopathic TN. Therefore, further well-designed placebo-controlled trials are required to confirm the efficacy of GBP in managing TN pain as a single therapy.