Everybody’s Greasing Up, But Should You Rub It In? A Review of Topical Analgesics and Available Evidence in Clinical Trials

Topical analgesics are often recommended in clinical practice, but differences between formulations and routes of administration lead to confusion. In addition to commercially prepared topical analgesics, compounded topical analgesics are highly promoted and widely utilized from compounding pharmacies with individualized recipes of multiple combined medications, at substantial cost. To assist providers with tough decisions in this area, the available clinical trials supporting use will be reviewed along with formulations, locations, and doses where their use have been shown to the be most effective. This session will review the role of various topical analgesics as well as explore the rationale for “topical polypharmacy” with compounded drugs.