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Treatment of chronic low back pain with tropisetron

Background: Various pathophysiological processes can lead to chronic back pain, which necessitates a differentiated therapeutic approach. In addition, psychic and psychosocial processes may influence the clinical picture. Method: Twenty‐five patients with chronic back pain were enrolled in the study. Patients suffering from psychosocial stresses and depressions were excluded from the study. The patients with painful tendinopathies and myofascial pain syndromes were treated with local injections of 5–10 mg tropisetron, and patients with degenerative processes were treated for 5 days with an intravenous (i.v.) bolus injection of 5 mg tropisetron (Navoban®). Before treatment and 7 and 14 days later, the visual analog pain scale was filled in. The long‐term drug therapy could be continued. Results: There was a highly significant pain reduction with a very potent effect both in the locally treated group and in the intravenously treated group. Most of the patients could discontinue or reduce their long‐term therapy with non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs or analgesics. Conclusion: A marked improvement in pain could be achieved in an open study by treating back pain of a primarily somatic nature with the 5‐HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron. A reduction in pain of ≥50% was reported by 76% of the patients. These results should be substantiated by the corresponding randomized, placebo‐controlled, double blind studies that are needed to investigate the true benefit of treating back pain with 5‐HT3 receptor antagonists.