. 2012 Mar 7;5:39–49. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S16733

Table 1.

Level of evidence^a for the drugs utilized to treat phantom-limb pain and other neuropathic-pain conditions

Drug	Neuropathic-pain conditions

	PLP	PPN	PHN	TN	HIV	CP
Acetaminophen	CrS/P
NSAIDs	CrS/P
Antidepressants tricyclics
Amitriptyline	CT/P/N	CT/P^b	CT/P^b		CT/N	CT^b
Desipramine		CT/P^b	CT/P^b			^b
Imipramine		CT/P^b,	CT/P^b			^b
Nortriptyline		CT/P^b	CT/P^b			^b
Clomipramine		CT/P^b	CT/P^b
Trazadone		CT/P
Maprotiline		CT/P^b	CT/P^b			^b
Tetracyclics
Mirtazapine	CS
SSRIs
Escitalopram		CT/P
Fluoxetine		CT/P
Paroxetine		CT/P
Sertraline		OLT/P
Bupropion		CT/P	CT/P
SNRIs
Duloxetine	CR	CT/P^b
Venlafaxine ER	CT/N	CT/P^b				CT/P
Milnacipran	CR
Anticonvulsants calcium channel alpha 2 delta ligands
Gabapentin	CT/P	CT/P/N^b	CT/P^b	CR	CT/N	CT/P^b
Pregabalin	CT/P	CT/P^b	CT/P		CT/N	CT/P^b
Carbamazepine		CT/P		CT/P^b
Lamotrigine		CT/P/N				CT/P/N
Oxcarbamazepine				CT/P^b
Phenytoin		CT/P/N
Topiramate		CT/P/N
Valproate		CT/P/N	CT/P			CT/N
Sodium channel blockers
Bupivacaine (inject)	CT/P
Lidocaine
Infusion	CT/N	CT/P
Patches			CT/P
Mexiletine		CT/P/N			CT/N	CT/N
NMDA receptor antagonists
Memantine	CR/P/N	CT/P/N	CT/N
Ketamine^c	CT/N
Dextromethorphan		CT/P	CT/N
NMDA+Potassium channel blocker					CR
Flupirtine (plus opioids)
Opioids
Morphine	CT/P	CT/P	CT/P
Methadone	CS
Buprenorphine^d	CR/P
Oxycodone	CR/P	CT/P	CT/P
Levorphanol		CT(M)
Tramadol	CT/P	CT/P	CT/P
Muscle relaxants
Baclofen	CR^d		CT/P
Benzodiazepines
Clonazepam	CS
Diazepam		CT/P
Alprazolam		OLT
Corticosteroids
Prednisone		CS
Dexamethasone		CS
Capsaicin		CT/P/N	CT/P	CT/N

Notes: In bold characters, reports and studies specifically designed to test drugs on PLP.

Only highest level of evidence for each drug and condition reported;

first-line drugs according to EFNS guidelines;

intravenous infusion;

intrathecal analgesia.

Abbreviations: CrS, cross-sectional study; CR, case report/case series; CT, controlled trial; OLT, open label trial; M, mixed patient population; P, positive clinical trial; N, negative clinical trial; P/N, mixed clinical trial results; PLP, phantom limb pain; PPN, painful polyneuropathy; PHN, post-herpetic neuralgia; TN, trigeminal neuralgia; CP, central pain (post-stoke and spinal cord injury); NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; SNRIs, serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors; NMDA, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate.