Conditions: Neuropathic Pain Postmastectomy Pain
Keywords: breast cancer neuropathic pain topical lidocaine postmastectomy pain breast symptoms breast pain
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 21
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This trial is part of a larger, longitudinal study of symptoms that occur in the breast surgical scar area and/or ipsilateral arm following breast cancer surgery. Women who develop pain in the breast scar area or ipsilateral arm will be randomized to a placebo patch or a lidocaine patch that they will wear on a daily basis for 12 weeks. We hypothesize that women who wear the lidocaine patch will report a decrease in pain and decreased interference with function compared to women who wear the placebo patch.

Detailed description:

Arms:
arm 1: Drug: lidocaine patch 5% (Lidoderm®, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.), 1 patch was applied topically to the affected site(s) for 12 hours each day. arm 2: Drug: placebo patch, 1 patch was applied topically to the affected site(s) for 12 hours each day.

Interventions: intervention 1: Lidoderm patch intervention 2: Placebo patch
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 1 patch was applied topically to the affected site(s) for 12 hours each day. intervention 2: 1 patch was applied topically to the affected site(s) for 12 hours each day.

Protocol document: