VAQUER QUILES, L. et al. Iontophoresis in the approach to patients with chronic pain. []. , 16, 5, pp.275-278. ISSN 1134-8046.

Objective: To evaluate the technique of iontophoresis in the distinct entities in which it was used during a 1-year period in our unit. Material and method: We performed a retrospective study. The medical records of 50 patients who received iontophoresis in 2005 and who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were analyzed. The analgesic effectiveness of treatment was evaluated through a visual analog scale (VAS) at the beginning and end of treatment. To evaluate the technique, the pre-treatment and post-treatment means of VAS scores were calculated with 95% confidence intervals and the results were compared. Student's t-test was used to evaluate the consistency of the data (the SPSS v. 13.1 statistical package was used). Results: Evaluation of the consistency of the data by comparing pre-treatment and posttreatment VAS results through Student¿s t-test for paired data showed that treatment with iontophoresis produced statistically significant reductions in VAS scores for the following entities: osteoarthritis (pretreatment mean ± standard deviation 7.28 ± 1.69, post-treatment mean ± standard deviation 4.80 ± 2.64) and carpel tunnel syndrome (pretreatment mean ± standard deviation 7.57 ± 0.83, post-treatment mean ± standard deviation 6.35 ± 0.74). Conclusions: Iontophoresis seems to be an appropriate and highly safe technique for the treatment of chronic pain in diseases such as osteoarthritis and carpel tunnel syndrome.

: Iontophoresis; Transdermal route; Lidocaine; Dexamethasone.

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