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Opioids prescribing trend between 2013 and 2017 in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, Portugal

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgements

This study was promoted by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of ARSLVT. Drug prescription monitoring is one of the statutory tasks of this Committee.

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None.

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None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of ARSLVT – Comissão de Farmácia e Terapêutica da Administração Regional de Saúde de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, Lisboa, Portugal

    Daniel Caldeira, Paula Broeiro, Fátima Cimadeira, João Costa, António Lourenço, Cristina Meireles, Mara Pereira Guerreiro & Nadine Ribeiro

  2. Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Cardiovascular da Universidade de Lisboa - CCUL, Faculdade de Medicina, Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria (CHULN), CAML, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Daniel Caldeira

  3. Laboratório de Farmacologia Clínica e Terapêutica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Daniel Caldeira & João Costa

  4. Instituto de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Paula Broeiro

  5. NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    António Lourenço

  6. Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Mara Pereira Guerreiro

  7. CiiEM, Instituto Universitário Egas Moniz, Monte de Caparica, Portugal

    Mara Pereira Guerreiro & Nadine Ribeiro

Authors
  1. Daniel Caldeira
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  2. Paula Broeiro
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  3. Fátima Cimadeira
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  4. João Costa
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  5. António Lourenço
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  6. Cristina Meireles
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  7. Mara Pereira Guerreiro
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  8. Nadine Ribeiro
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the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of ARSLVT

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mara Pereira Guerreiro.

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Caldeira, D., Broeiro, P., Cimadeira, F. et al. Opioids prescribing trend between 2013 and 2017 in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, Portugal. Int J Clin Pharm 43, 323–327 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-020-01199-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-020-01199-7

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