Gabapentin for chronic pain in spinal cord injury: A case report

A 30-year-old white woman with an L1 complete spinal cord injury (SCI) secondary to a gunshot wound in 1985, presented to a chronic pain service for evaluation. She had a 13-year history of chronic lower extremity pain. She described her discomfort as 'throbbing, aching, and stabbing.' She had tried many different medications, including opioids, Tegretol, and tricyclic antidepressants, without success. During the evaluation process, she admitted to being 'angry, frustrated, and anxious.' She was diagnosed with central pain after SCI. She was placed on gabapentin 300mg 3 times daily; within 1 week, her visual analog pain scale fell from 95mm to 27mm, and her McGill Short Form pain score fell from 13 to 3. Her mood also vastly improved. This case report suggests that gabapentin should be studied as a therapeutic option for treating central pain post-SCI and should be considered as a viable, well-tolerated, low-toxicity tool.