Postherpetic neuralgia is a common complication of herpes zoster. Several interventions have been investigated for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia, however, there is a lack of preventive intervention on postherpetic neuralgia. A recent retrospective study revealed that the administration of gabapentin during the acute herpes zoster period significantly decreased the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. In the present study, the investigators aim to conduct a prospective, randomized, open-label, endpoint blinded study to investigate the preventive efficacy of prophylactic use of duloxetine on postherpetic neuralgia.
In this study, the investigators aim to investigate the preventive efficacy of prophylactic oral duloxetine during acute herpes zoster on postherpetic neuralgia and its safety.