Table 2.
Drugs’ indication, dosage appropriateness and co-prescribed drugs, n=291
| Cohort | Pregabalin | Gabapentin | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 291 | 247 (84.8) | 44 (15.1) | |
| Indications labelled | 63 (21.6) | 61 (24.7) | 2 (4.5) | |
| Diabetic peripheral neuropathy | 50 (79.4) | 49 (80.3) | 1 (50.0) | |
| Fibromyalgia | 10 (15.9) | 10 (16.4) | ||
| Postherpetic neuralgia | 3 (4.7) | 2 (3.3) | 1 (50.0) | |
| Off-label | 159 (54.6) | 128 (51.8) | 31(70.5) | |
| Lower back pain | 47 (29.6) | 43 (33.6) | 4 (12.9) | |
| Spinal cord injury | 16 (10.1) | 13 (10.2) | 3 (9.7) | |
| Others | 83 (52.2) | 72 (56.3) | 11 (35.5) | |
| undocumented | 69 (23.7) | 58 (23.5) | 11 (25.0) | |
| Dosage appropriateness | 291 (100) | 247 (100) | 44 (100) | |
| Co-prescribed drugs | ||||
| Aspirin | 78 (26.8) | 70 (28.3) | 8 (18.2) | |
| Metformin | 68 (23.4) | 58 (23.5) | 10 (22.7) | |
| Esomeprazole | 63 (21.6) | 54 (21.9) | 9 (20.5) | |
| Paracetamol | 61 (21.0) | 49 (19.8) | 12 (27.3) | |
| Rosuvastatin | 59 (20.3) | 50 (20.2) | 9 (20.5) | |
| Atorvastatin | 44 (15.1) | 44 (17.8) | ||
| Celecoxib | 34 (11.7) | 34 (13.8) | ||
| Co-prescribed controlled drugs | ||||
| Tramadol | 18 (6.2) | 16 (6.5) | 2 (4.5) | |
| Co-codamol | 12 (4.1) | 10 (4.0) | 2 (4.5) | |
| Duloxetine | 9 (3.1) | 7 (2.8) | 2 (4.5) | |
| Fluoxetine | 5 (1.7) | 3 (1.2) | 2 (4.5) | |
| Others | 10 (3.4) | 8 (3.2) | 2 (4.5) |
Some data do not add up to 100% as some were missing