geoffrey modest medical blogs

      given my general feelings that gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) are dramatically over-prescribed and often for inappropriate indications, this blog will address issues of major complications in terms of asthma and COPD as well as heart failure associated with their use (see gabapentinoids inc asthma Thorax2025  in dropbox, or https:// doi. org/ 10. 1136/ thorax- 2025- 223240).  Details : -- researchers in Japan accessed their National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Check-ups (NDB) from 2015 to 2023     -- this database has data from all public insurers in Japan, resulting in nearly complete coverage of hospitals nationwide, with demographic data on each patient as well as diagnoses, examinations, and treatments from both inpatient and outpatient settings -- the patients included were at least 40 years old (that is when routine checkups are done in ...

  Yet another article found that gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) were ineffective for pain control, this one finding no benefit in pain reduction or improved sleep in patients with peripheral nerve injury (see   gabapentinoid not reduce periph nerve pain ClinOrthopRelatRes2025  in dropbox, or DOI 10.1097/CORR.0000000000003415. Thanks to orthopedic surgeons Dickey Jones and Brad Henley for bringing this to my attention   Details : -- there were only four  randomized controlled trials  included in this  meta-analysis on gabapentinoids versus placebo  for patients having nerve injuries, in a  literature search from 2000 to 2022     -- these four studies involve 919 patients: 402 were treated with either gabapentin or pregabalin (gabapentinoids), 394 were treated with placebo, and 123 with both in the two crossover trials         -- the researchers assessed only the initial blinded side...