Development of an evidence-based pain management protocol and its application in patients with postherpetic neuralgia.

BACKGROUND: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most prevalent complication of herpes zoster, severely compromises patients' quality of life. This study developed and evaluated an evidence-based nursing framework for a comprehensive PHN pain management program. METHODS: Guided by evidence-based principles, we systematically synthesized optimal evidence-including 2 clinical guidelines, 2 decision support tools, and 6 evidence summaries-to draft a PHN management program refined through expert consultations; using convenience sampling, 80 PHN patients from a tertiary hospital in Suzhou, China, were allocated to a control group (n = 40, January-June 2023, conventional nursing) or an intervention group (n = 40, July-December 2023, conventional nursing plus the evidence-based program), with pain levels (numeric rating scale) assessed at admission, discharge, and 1-month post-discharge and analyzed via repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: The finalized PHN program comprised 5 first-level domains (e.g., multidimensional assessment, stepped pharmacotherapy), 12 second-level subdomains, and 28 third-level interventions; the intervention group showed significantly greater pain reduction versus controls (mean Δnumeric rating scale: -3.8 vs -1.2 at 1-month; P < .001), with significant group-time interaction (F = 15.32, P < .001). CONCLUSION: This evidence-based PHN pain management program significantly alleviates neuralgia, demonstrating robust scientific validity and clinical utility.