AIDS pain treatment with antidepressants/anticonvulsants recommended in Franco-American guidelines.

Executive Summary

ANTIDEPRESSANTS/ANTICONVULSANTS RECOMMENDED FOR NEUROPATHIC AIDS PAIN of mild-to-moderate intensity with the addition of opioids to control residual pain, according to guidelines for pain control in HIV/AIDS patients being published by the Washington, D.C.-based France-USA Pain Association. "If pain reflects a neuropathic process and is of mild to moderate intensity, then an antidepressant and/or anticonvulsant should be started and titrated according to symptom control and side effects; later addition of an opioid should be considered if necessary to control residual pain," the document states.