Case Report
Potential Adverse Consequences of Combination Therapy with Gabapentin and Pregabalin
Table 1
Comparison of pharmacokinetic properties and US FDA-labelled indications of gabapentin and pregabalin.
| | Characteristics | Gabapentin | Pregabalin |
| | Administration | Oral, parenteral (for misuse) | Oral (parenteral for misuse) | | Absorption | Oral: saturable | Oral: not saturable (linear) | | Parenteral: linear | Parenteral: linear | | Bioavailability | 27–60% (inversely proportional to dose) | ≥90% | | | | Dose frequency | TID | BID | | Metabolism | Negligible | Negligible | | Excretion | Urine (unchanged) | Urine (unchanged) | | Indication (label) | Focal seizure, postherpetic neuralgia | Focal seizure, postherpetic neuralgia, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain (diabetes, spinal cord injury) |
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US FDA: United States Food and Drug Administration; TID: three times a day; BID: twice a day.
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