Drug therapy for refractory trigeminal neuralgia - A review

Trigeminal neuralgia is the most common neuralgia affecting the orofacial region. The condition characterized by sudden, severe electric shock like pain on the face with pain free periods and is termed as refractory period.Management of this condition is achieved through various drug therapies and in some cases, surgical intervention may be required. Refractory trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that is non responsive to the traditional line of therapy. This poses a challenge to the clinicians to offer the patients alternate options for pain control in these patients. In this review, an attempt has been made to discuss the various drug therapies in the management of refractory trigeminal neuralgia.