ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2021
Prescribing Patterns of Pain Medications in Unspecific Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Retrospective Analysis.
Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Changes in pharmacological management of low back pain: Real-world evidence from a 4-year comparison (2021-2025).Northern clinics of Istanbul · 2026Article
- Association between chiropractic spinal manipulation for sciatica and opioid-related adverse events: A retrospective cohort study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Depression, Quality of Life and Medication Use Among Patients With Chronic Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study.Pain research & management · 2025Article
- Analgesia for non-specific low back pain.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Article
- Article
- Does adding muscle relaxant make post-operative pain better? a narrative review of the literature from US and European studies.Anesthesia and pain medicine · 2023Review
- Treatment Patterns in Patients with Diagnostic Imaging for Low Back Pain: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of pain research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acute low back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. Since there is evidence of excessive prescriptions of analgesics, i.e., opioids, the aim of this study was to describe the use of pain medications in patients with LBP in the Swiss primary care setting. A retrospective, observational study was performed using medical prescriptions of 180 general practitioners (GP) during years 2009-2020. Patterns of pain medications (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), paracetamol, and opioids) as well as co-medications were analyzed in patients with a LBP diagnosis. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses assessed GP and patient characteristics associated with the prescription of pain medication. Patients included were 10,331 (mean age 51.7 years, 51.2% female); 6449 (62.4%) received at least one pain medication and of these 86% receive NSAIDs and 22% opioids. GP characteristics (i.e., self-employment status) and patient characteristics (male gender and number of consultations) were associated with significantly higher odds of receiving any pain medication in multivariable analysis. 3719 patients (36%) received co-medications. Proton-pump-inhibitors and muscle relaxants were the most commonly used co-medications. In conclusion, two-thirds of LBP patients were treated with pain medications. Prescribing patterns were conservative, with little use of strong opioids and co-medications.
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