ArticleJournal of Taibah University Medical Sciences2021
Abuse liability of gabapentin in the Saudi population after the pregabalin restriction: A cross-sectional study.
Article in Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- How the Reclassification of Gabapentinoids Reshaped Neuropathic Pain Treatment in Saudi Arabia: A Survey of Healthcare Professionals.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Patterns of pregabalin misuse: Need for intervention.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Article
- A hospital-based multi-centric observational study to explore the prevalence and correlates of non-medical use and dependence of pregabalin among the patients with substance use disorder in Punjab & Chandigarh.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Observational
- Addressing the unanswered questions: a qualitative exploration focusing on community dwellers using pregabalin without prescription in Islamabad city, Pakistan.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- Changing Trends in Nonmedical Gabapentin Use Among a Cohort of Rural Appalachian People Who Use Drugs: A Longitudinal Study Over the Time Period of Scheduling Changes in Kentucky.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Addressing Gabapentinoids' Access Challenges in Saudi Arabia Under New Prescription Regulations: An Expert View.Pain and therapy · 2025Review
- Community pharmacists' engagement with Raqeeb platform: perceptions and implementation challenges toward controlled substance monitoring in Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- A Hidden Pandemic? Abuse of Gabapentinoids: A Brief Review of Recent Studies.Current drug research reviews · 2025Review
- Efficient and eco-friendly detection of gabapentin using nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots: an analytical and green chemistry approach.RSC advances · 2024Article
- Suspected inappropriate use of prescription and non-prescription drugs among requesting customers: A Saudi community pharmacists' perspective.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveFollowing the recently conducted local studies on the growing misuse of pregabalin, Pregabalin misuse has received national attention. These studies have led to the authorities restricting the availability of pregabalin to hospital pharmacies alone. While the recent epidemiological studies and case reports found gabapentin to be misused worldwide, it was previously presumed to be free of any abuse potential. This study assesses the likelihood of there being a diversion to Gabapentin abuse following the Pregabalin restriction in Jeddah, KSA.
methodsA cross sectional observational study was conducted between November 2017 and December 2017 using a self-constructed online survey via Twitter and WhatsApp. The survey items included participants' demographics, additional history, Gabapentin for non-medical use (frequency, concurrent use with other drugs, and motivators), and how the participants knew about the Gabapentin misuse. The data was subjected to a descriptive analysis via the utilization of frequencies and percentages. The analysis was carried out by using SPSS V21.
resultsData of the 370 respondents who took the surveys were collected. Most of the respondents were women (n = 289; 78.1%) and below the age of 30 years (n = 300; 81.1%). A total of 72 respondents (19.5%) had a history of psychoactive drug abuse. Ten of the respondents reported Gabapentin misuse (2.7%). Half of the participants reported prior Pregabalin misuse, and were un-employed. Most of the misusers (n = 8; 80%) came to know about the psychotropic effects of Gabapentin from friends. The most common motives for using it were to 'have fun' and 'peer pressure' (n = 6; 60%). Half of the misusers used Gabapentin on a weekly basis.
conclusionThe findings of our study suggest a potential diversion from Pregabalin to Gabapentin misuse. Regulations and periodic reviews of the psychoactive prescription medications available in the community pharmacies are essential.
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