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The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study

BACKGROUND: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) classified pregabalin as a controlled substance in 2018; however, whether this policy change has affected pregabalin use is unclear. This study examined the trends in pregabalin prescriptions before and after the SFDA restriction. In addition, the...

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Autores principales: Al-jedai, Ahmed, Alkofide, Hadeel, Almohimeed, Lujaine, Alsalim, Lama, Alruwaili, Alya, Alissa, Dema A., Almudaiheem, Hajer
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665920/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38028223
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101851
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author Al-jedai, Ahmed
Alkofide, Hadeel
Almohimeed, Lujaine
Alsalim, Lama
Alruwaili, Alya
Alissa, Dema A.
Almudaiheem, Hajer
author_facet Al-jedai, Ahmed
Alkofide, Hadeel
Almohimeed, Lujaine
Alsalim, Lama
Alruwaili, Alya
Alissa, Dema A.
Almudaiheem, Hajer
author_sort Al-jedai, Ahmed
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) classified pregabalin as a controlled substance in 2018; however, whether this policy change has affected pregabalin use is unclear. This study examined the trends in pregabalin prescriptions before and after the SFDA restriction. In addition, the co-prescription of controlled analgesics and the use of pregabalin for approved indications were also evaluated. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted on outpatient pregabalin prescriptions from three healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia. Interrupted time series analysis was used to assess changes over time in pregabalin prescriptions and the number of patients receiving pregabalin. June 2016 to June 2017 was identified as the pre-restriction period, and July 2018 to July 2019 as the post-restriction period. RESULTS: In this study, 77,760 pregabalin prescriptions were identified. There were 9,076 patients on pregabalin in the pre-restriction period with 16,875 prescriptions, compared with 7,123 patients and 19,484 prescriptions post-restriction. The total number of pregabalin users decreased by 21.5% post-restriction, and prescriptions increased by 15.5%. There was no significant change in the monthly trends in pregabalin prescriptions before and after the restriction. However, the of tramadol and acetaminophen/codeine prescriptions in patients who were using pregabalin increased in the post-restriction period by 21% and 16.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Pregabalin use was reduced after the SFDA-enforced prescription restriction was implemented. This was accompanied by increased narcotics use in the post-implementation phase.
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spelling pubmed-106659202023-10-31 The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study Al-jedai, Ahmed Alkofide, Hadeel Almohimeed, Lujaine Alsalim, Lama Alruwaili, Alya Alissa, Dema A. Almudaiheem, Hajer Saudi Pharm J Article BACKGROUND: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) classified pregabalin as a controlled substance in 2018; however, whether this policy change has affected pregabalin use is unclear. This study examined the trends in pregabalin prescriptions before and after the SFDA restriction. In addition, the co-prescription of controlled analgesics and the use of pregabalin for approved indications were also evaluated. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted on outpatient pregabalin prescriptions from three healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia. Interrupted time series analysis was used to assess changes over time in pregabalin prescriptions and the number of patients receiving pregabalin. June 2016 to June 2017 was identified as the pre-restriction period, and July 2018 to July 2019 as the post-restriction period. RESULTS: In this study, 77,760 pregabalin prescriptions were identified. There were 9,076 patients on pregabalin in the pre-restriction period with 16,875 prescriptions, compared with 7,123 patients and 19,484 prescriptions post-restriction. The total number of pregabalin users decreased by 21.5% post-restriction, and prescriptions increased by 15.5%. There was no significant change in the monthly trends in pregabalin prescriptions before and after the restriction. However, the of tramadol and acetaminophen/codeine prescriptions in patients who were using pregabalin increased in the post-restriction period by 21% and 16.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Pregabalin use was reduced after the SFDA-enforced prescription restriction was implemented. This was accompanied by increased narcotics use in the post-implementation phase. Elsevier 2023-12 2023-10-31 /pmc/articles/PMC10665920/ /pubmed/38028223 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101851 Text en © 2023 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Al-jedai, Ahmed
Alkofide, Hadeel
Almohimeed, Lujaine
Alsalim, Lama
Alruwaili, Alya
Alissa, Dema A.
Almudaiheem, Hajer
The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study
title The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study
title_full The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study
title_fullStr The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study
title_full_unstemmed The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study
title_short The impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: An observational multicenter study
title_sort impact of a restricted pregabalin prescription policy on drug utilization: an observational multicenter study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665920/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38028223
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101851
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