Abstract
In this study, among 2,105 patients diagnosed with burning mouth syndrome （BMS） who visited the Department of Oral Medicine, Hokkaido University Hospital during the 14-year period from 2010 to 2023, 42 patients received a monotherapy of duloxetine for ＞2 weeks. We retrospectively investigated the characteristics and therapeutic effects of the drug. Patients received a monotherapy of duloxetine at an initial dose of 20mg/day for BMS, with dose escalation to 40mg/day if no effect was observed, and up to 60mg/day if still no effect was observed. The survey items included each patient’s age, sex, duration of illness, treatment results, and side effects. For cases wherein the patient was judged to have improved based on treatment results, we also examined the period until the onset of therapeutic effects, the dose at which therapeutic effects were achieved, and recurrence. The average age of the patients was 60 （median 62） years, of whom 81％ were women. The average disease duration was 27 months （median 10 months） and displayed a polarized tendency. The overall improvement rate was 36％ （15 cases out of 42）, with 73％ of improved cases （11 cases out of 15） showing efficacy within 1 month, all at 20mg/day. Four of the other improved cases also showed efficacy within 2 months, at a dose of 40mg/day. We observed no statistically significant difference in improvement rates based on sex. Similarly, no statistically significant differences in improvement rates were observed between groups when the study population was bisected by the median values of age and disease duration. Side effects were observed in 71％ of cases （30 cases out of 42）; however, no cardiovascular or severe side effects necessitating oral therapy discontinuation were reported. The recurrence rate among patients who completed duloxetine treatment owing to improvement was 20％ （3 cases out of 15）.
