Gabapentin Successfully Manages Chronic Unexplained Irritability in Children With Severe Neurologic Impairment

Gabapentin Successfully Manages Chronic Unexplained Irritability in Children With Severe Neurologic Impairment

Hauer Julie M; Wical B S; Charnas L

Pediatrics

2007

Severity of Illness Index; infant; Nervous System Diseases/complications; Pain; Humans; Adolescent; Child Preschool; adolescent; Infant; Retrospective Studies; Analgesics/therapeutic use; Amines/therapeutic use; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids/therapeutic use; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/therapeutic use; Irritability; Irritable Mood/drug effects; Remission Induction; NET Files; chronic disease; steroid; clinical feature; priority journal; brain disease; gabapentin/dt [Drug Therapy]; tricyclic antidepressant agent/dt [Drug Therapy]; symptomatology; human; article; child; female; male; controlled study; adult; clinical article; drug withdrawal; amitriptyline/dt [Drug Therapy]; brain ischemia; drug dose titration; Gabapentin; gabapentin/ae [Adverse Drug Reaction]; gastritis; hyperalgesia/dt [Drug Therapy]; infantile spasm; intestinal dysmotility; neurologic disease/dt [Drug Therapy]; Neurological impairment; nystagmus/si [Side Effect]; proton pump inhibitor; salazosulfapyridine; Visceral hyperalgesia

Neurologically impaired children have an increased frequency of recurrent pain and irritability that persist in some despite comprehensive evaluation and management of possible pain sources. We hypothesized that visceral hyperalgesia was a source of chronic unexplained irritability and report the outcome of gabapentin treatment in 9 severely neurologically impaired children. Caregivers reported marked improvement after treatment ranging from 3 months to 3 years. Nystagmus in 1 child was the only noted adverse effect. Visceral hyperalgesia may be a source of unexplained irritability in the neurologically impaired child. Symptoms may improve with gabapentin treatment.

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