| Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with gabapentin in the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia (PTN). Methods: 165 patients with PTN were randomly divided into the gabapentin group (group A), rTMS group (group B), and rTMS combined with gabapentin group (group C), 55 cases in each group. Group A received gabapentin capsules orally, group B was treated with rTMS, and patients in group C were treated with rTMS combined with gabapentin. Before and after treatment, patients were evaluated by visual analogue score (VAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale (PSQI), and the pain relief rate, gabapentin dosage and adverse reactions were recorded. Results: Among the three groups, the VAS scores after 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 1, 3, and 6 months of treatment all showed a downward trend (all P<0.05). As compared with group A at the same time points (4 weeks and 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment), the VAS scores in groups B and C were significantly reduced (all P<0.05), and those in the group C were significantly lower than in the group B (P<0.05). The pain relief of the three groups was statistically significant (all P<0.05). The pain relief rates in group C were significantly higher than those in groups A and B (both P<0.05), and the dosage of gabapentin in group C was significantly less than that in group A (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in group B was lower than in groups A and C (both P<0.05), and the total incidence of adverse reactions in group C was lower than that in group A (P<0.05). After treatment, the PSQI scores of the three groups were significantly lower than before treatment (all P<0.05), those of groups B and C were significantly lower than those of group A (all P<0.05), and those of group C were significantly lower than those of group B (P<0.05). Conclusion: The combination of rTMS and gabapentin can improve the therapeutic effect of PTN, reduce the dose of gabapentin, improve the sleep of patients, and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions. It is worthy of clinical application. |
