The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of tramadol hydrochloride (HCl) 37.5 miligram (mg)/acetaminophen 325 mg compared to gabapentin in participants with diabetic neuropathic (nerve disorder caused by diabetes mellitus) pain.
This is an open-label (a medical research study in which participants and researchers are told which treatments the participants are receiving, "unblinded"), multi-center and randomized (study drug is assigned by chance) study to compare the effectiveness and safety of tramadol HCl 37.5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg with gabapentin in participants with diabetic neuropathy. The study will consist of 4 periods: Screening period (up to Day -14), Randomization period (Day 1), Dosage adjustment period (Day 15) and Maintenance period (Day 43). The participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 treatment groups: tramadol HCl 37.5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg or gabapentin. Tramadol Hcl/acetaminophen group will receive 1 tablet for 3 days, then 1 tablet twice daily for 4 days followed by 1 tablet thrice daily for next 7 days. If there is no pain relief, the dosage can be increased up to 8 tablets per day for Day 15 to 28, and then the increased dosage will be maintained for Day 29 to 42. Gabapentin group will receive 300 mg on Day 1, 300 mg twice daily on Day 2, and 300 mg thrice daily for Day 3 to 7. Then for Day 8 to 14, participants will receive 300 mg in the morning, 300 mg in the midday and 600 mg in the evening. If there is no pain relief, gabapentin can be increased up to 3600 mg per day for Day 15 to 28, and then the increased dosage will be maintained for Day 29 to 42. Primarily, efficacy will be evaluated by pain intensity using numeric rating scale (NRS). Participants' safety will be monitored throughout the study.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
162
Participants will receive 1 tablet containing tramadol HCl 37.5 milligram (mg) and acetaminophen 325 mg once daily, at bed time on Days 1 to 3,. 1 tablet twice daily on Days 4 to 7 and 1 tablet thrice daily on Day 8 to 14. If there is no pain relief, the dosage can be increased up to 8 tablets per day for Days 15 to 28. The increased dose will be maintained for Days 29 to 42.
Participants will receive Gabapentin 300 mg once daily at bed time on Day 1, 300 mg twice daily on Day 2 and 300 mg thrice daily on Day 3. Gabapentin 300 mg will be administered twice daily (in the morning and midday) and gabapentin 600 mg in the evening on Day 8 to 14. If there is no pain relief, the dosage can be increased up to 3600 mg per day for Days 15 to 28. The increased dose will be maintained for Days 29 to 42.
Change From Baseline in Pain Intensity Score at Day 43
Pain intensity was assessed on 11-point numerical rating scale ranging from 0=no pain to 10=pain as bad as you can imagine.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 43
Percentage of Participants With Pain Relief
Pain relief was assessed on a scale ranging from -1 to 4, where -1=became worse, 0=no change, 1=relieved a little, 2=relieved moderately, 3=relieved a lot and 4=completely resolved.
Time frame: Day 15, Day 29 and Day 43
Overall Assessment of Study Medication by Participants
Overall assessment of study medication was done by participants. Assessment was made on a scale of -2 to 2 where, -2=very bad, -1=bad, 0=no change, 1= good and 2=very good.
Time frame: Day 43
Overall Assessment of Study Medication by Investigator
Overall assessment of study medication was done by Investigator. Assessment was made on a scale of -2 to 2 where, -2=very bad, -1=bad, 0=no change, 1= good and 2=very good.
Time frame: Day 43
Change From Baseline in Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Score at Day 43
The BPI is a questionnaire designed to assess the severity and impact of pain on quality of life. Pain severity score is caculated by sum of all severity items (pain worst, pain least, pain average and pain now) divided by pain now. Total score for pain severity ranges from 0=no pain to 10=extreme pain. Pain interference score was calculated by sum of all interference items (general activity, mood, walking ability, normal work, relations with other people, sleep, and enjoyment of life) score. Total score for pain interference ranges from 0=no interference to 70= interferes completely.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 43
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Change From Baseline in Short Form-36 (SF-36) Score at Day 43
The SF-36 is designed to assess the health status of participants. The SF-36 includes 1 multi-item scale measuring physical health and mental health. Physical health includes physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, pain and general health. Mantal health includes role limitations due to emotional problems, energy/fatigue, emotional well being and social functioning. Each item is scored on a 0-100 range so that the lowest and highest possible scores are set at 0 and 100, respectively. All items are scored so that a high score defines a more favorable health state.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 43