Ajura A J, Lau S H, Nur Suffia S
Institute for Medical Research, Stomatology Unit, Cancer Research Centre, Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur 50588, Malaysia.
Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Cardiovascular, Diabetes & Nutrition Research Centre (CDNRC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Med J Malaysia. 2016 Dec;71(6):305-307.
Trigeminal neuralgia is an agonising orofacial pain affecting unilaterally the distribution of the trigeminal nerve and it usually occurs in the middle and older age groups. Carbamazepine which is an anti-neuralgic as well as an anti-convulsant medication is the first line drug for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. It is commonly taken as one tablet (200 mg) three times a day.
This is an observational study carried out from April to September 2014 to determine how Muslim patients on carbamazepine treatment for trigeminal neuralgia cope with their neuralgic pain. The pattern of how the medication was taken during the fasting month of Ramadan was also observed.
A total of 29 patients participated in this study and 27(93%) observed the fast. Ten of them adjusted the carbamazepine dose from three times pre-Ramadan to twice daily during the fasting month. Three patients continued fasting despite feeling the pain during the daytime while five patients had their pain under control with the newly adjusted dose.
Medical professionals should advise trigeminal neuralgia patients on how to take and adjust their carbamazepine dose during the fasting month.
三叉神经痛是一种令人痛苦的口腔面部疼痛，单侧影响三叉神经分布区域，通常发生在中老年人群中。卡马西平是一种抗神经痛以及抗惊厥药物，是治疗三叉神经痛的一线药物。通常每日服用三次，每次一片（200毫克）。
这是一项于2014年4月至9月开展的观察性研究，旨在确定接受卡马西平治疗三叉神经痛的穆斯林患者如何应对神经痛。同时也观察了斋月禁食期间服用药物的方式。
共有29名患者参与了本研究，其中27名（93%）进行了斋戒。他们中的10人将斋月前每日三次的卡马西平剂量调整为每日两次。三名患者尽管白天感到疼痛仍继续斋戒，而五名患者通过新调整的剂量使疼痛得到了控制。
医学专业人员应就斋月期间如何服用和调整卡马西平剂量向三叉神经痛患者提供建议。
