Topical capsaicin for the management of painful diabetic neuropathy: a narrative systematic review.

Brandon Goodwin, Maanas Chiplunkar, Ryan Salerno, Kylon Coombs, Umar Sannoh, Vrushank Shah, Nicholas Averell, Usmaan Al-Shebab, Deanna Janora

Pain management 2023 May

filter terms:

Aim: To investigate the potential benefit of topical capsaicin formulations. Materials & methods: A narrative systematic review was employed. Results: About 8% capsaicin patches were found to significantly reduce symptoms of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Capsaicin was found to improve sleep quality (p = 0.02). Capsaicin patch exposure for 60 min showed significant reduction in symptoms (-32.8%). Capsaicin cream significantly reduced pain at weeks two and six (p = 0.003 and p = 0.03, respectively), but not at week eight in comparative studies. 0.025% capsaicin gel had an insignificant reduction in pain compared with placebo (p = 0.53), however 0.075% was found to be significant (p = 0.038). Capsaicin cream did not have superior improvement of pain as compared with clonidine gel (p = 0.931). The most common adverse events included application site discomfort, erythema and burning. Conclusion: Topical capsaicin treatments are a potentially beneficial peripherally acting medication. Further research is needed to determine the best means of ameliorating the side effects of treatments.

Citation

Brandon Goodwin, Maanas Chiplunkar, Ryan Salerno, Kylon Coombs, Umar Sannoh, Vrushank Shah, Nicholas Averell, Usmaan Al-Shebab, Deanna Janora. Topical capsaicin for the management of painful diabetic neuropathy: a narrative systematic review. Pain management. 2023 May;13(5):309-316