TY - JOUR
T1 - Opioids prescribing trend between 2013 and 2017 in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, Portugal
AU - on behalf of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of ARSLVT
AU - Caldeira, Daniel
AU - Broeiro, Paula
AU - Cimadeira, Fátima
AU - Costa, João
AU - Lourenço, António
AU - Meireles, Cristina
AU - Guerreiro, Mara Pereira
AU - Ribeiro, Nadine
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Background In the United States of America, the increased use of opioids is associated with serious risks, such as overdose, opioid use disorder and death. In Portugal, data about the use of these drugs are scarce. Objective Characterize the prescribing patterns of opioids in the Health Administrative Region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley. Methods Observational, retrospective descriptive analysis of the prescription of opioid drugs through the Health Administrative Region database from 2013 to 2017. The outcomes analysed were the defined daily dose (DDD) per year and the defined daily dose per 1000 inhabitants per year (DID). Results The prescription of opioid drugs in this region has increased approximately 1.5-fold over a 4 year period (totals of 4.32 million DDD and 3.25 DID in 2013 to totals of 7.21 million DDD and 5.42 DID in 2017). The opioids with the greatest absolute increase in this period were tramadol, tapentadol and codeine. Conclusion The prescription of opioid drugs has increased approximately 1.5-fold over a 4 year period in the ambulatory care of one of the main health administrative regions in Portugal. This trend warrants monitoring and suggests the need for highlighting good practices for opioids prescribing.
AB - Background In the United States of America, the increased use of opioids is associated with serious risks, such as overdose, opioid use disorder and death. In Portugal, data about the use of these drugs are scarce. Objective Characterize the prescribing patterns of opioids in the Health Administrative Region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley. Methods Observational, retrospective descriptive analysis of the prescription of opioid drugs through the Health Administrative Region database from 2013 to 2017. The outcomes analysed were the defined daily dose (DDD) per year and the defined daily dose per 1000 inhabitants per year (DID). Results The prescription of opioid drugs in this region has increased approximately 1.5-fold over a 4 year period (totals of 4.32 million DDD and 3.25 DID in 2013 to totals of 7.21 million DDD and 5.42 DID in 2017). The opioids with the greatest absolute increase in this period were tramadol, tapentadol and codeine. Conclusion The prescription of opioid drugs has increased approximately 1.5-fold over a 4 year period in the ambulatory care of one of the main health administrative regions in Portugal. This trend warrants monitoring and suggests the need for highlighting good practices for opioids prescribing.
KW - Opioid
KW - Pharmacoepidemiology
KW - Prescription pattern
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096869720&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11096-020-01199-7
DO - 10.1007/s11096-020-01199-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 33245521
AN - SCOPUS:85096869720
SN - 2210-7703
VL - 43
SP - 323
EP - 327
JO - International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
JF - International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
IS - 2
ER -