Triamcinolone-procaine in the treatment of zoster and postzoster neuralgia

Twenty-four patients with herpes zoster were treated with injections of 2 percent procaine hydrochloride containing 2 mg of triamcinolone per ml. The treatments were given subcutaneously under the cutaneous lesions and in areas of pain. The results were excellent in 22 patients. There was one failure-postzoster neuralgia in an 82-year-old woman. Of 12 patients with postherpetic neuralgia, eight had improvement of 70 to 90 percent and three had complete relief. There were no significant complications in either group.