Background and aims: The treatment of neuropathic pain is difficult. Oral pharmaceuticals have significant side effects and treatment efficacy tends to be modest. The use of topical analgesics reduces the potential for systemic side effects and allows direct application of medications to the area of pain. Capsaicin 8% topical patch is labeled for treating localized neuropathic pain. Capsaicin is a natural spicy substance and decreases pain sensation by reducing transiente receptor potential vanilloid 1  expression and decreasing the density of epidermal nerve fibers in the application area. It's safety and efficacy has been demonstrated in open-label trials for up to 12 weeks. Our aim is to audit the implementation of Capsaicin 8% protocol in our Pain Unit after 1 year.
Methods: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of medical records of all patients treated with Capsaicin 8% was performed 1 year after protocol implementation.
Results: 12 patients were treated with topical capsaicin during this period: 4 male, 8 female, average age 45 (+/-12) years. 3 were treated twice, the remaining only once. Pre-emptive analgesia was given to 6 patients; 1 developed a local minor complication. Revaluation of treatment effectiveness was performed 10 times, not registered in 1 case. A complete response to treatment was achieved twice, temporary relieve twice and 5 patients had no response. Of our population, only 8 had paper records and 7 informatic ones.
Conclusions: This 1 year follow up made us aware that our protocol needs improvement and our records must be standardized.

CAPSAICINE 8% PATCH PROTOCOL - AUDIT 1 YEAR AFTER IMPLEMENTATION