Abstract:Abstract Objective: Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia(PCIA) has been used widely for its analgesic effect. However, there is scarce knowledge about the efficacy of PCIA for herpes zoster neuralgia. In this study, we sought to investigate the efficacy of PCIA in the treatment of severe zoster-related neuralgia(ZRN). Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients with ZRN who had received PCIA at our hospital between January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Numeric pain rating scale(NRS) was used to assess pain. The data was recorded, including the number and NRS of breakthough pain (BTP), resting NRS, 24-hour morphine milligram equivalents, adverse reactions. The time points were recorded include before PCIA use (T0), PCIA use day 1 (T1), day 2 (T2), day 3 (T3), first day after switching to an opioid sustained-release agent (T4), first day after discontinuation of PCIA (T5), 1 day before discharge (T6), 1 month after discharge (T7), 3 months after discharge (T8). All the data were collected from medical records. Results: Compared with those before PCIA, the number and NRS of BTP, resting NRS decreased to varying degrees after PCIA, the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). The commonly reported complications included nausea/vomiting , dizziness, constipation and somnolence , most of which were managed with symptomatic therapies. Conclusion:PCIA is safe and effective in the treatment of severe ZRN, which can significantly reduce the number and NRS of BTP, resting NRS, and the incidence of adverse reactions was lower.