Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39925687›Full record

ArticleActa stomatologica Croatica2024

Opioid Prescribing Trends by Croatian Dentists - Is there a Reason for Concern?

Lara Vranić, Krešimir Bašić, Ivana Šutej

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta stomatologica Croatica, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Lara VranićStudent of the University of Zagreb School of Dental Medicine, Croatia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5451-6867
Krešimir BašićDepartment of Pharmacology, University of Zagreb School of Dental Medicine, Croatia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9854-5708
Ivana ŠutejDepartment of Pharmacology, University of Zagreb School of Dental Medicine, Croatia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7654-0079

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Prescription opioid abuse, associated with numerous opioids, is a well-established public health problem in developed countries such as the UK, US and Australia. Opioids have a limited role in general dental practice; hence the aim of this study was to assess prescribing rates of opioids in dentistry from 2013 to 2023 in Croatia. Materials and Methods: Data on opioid prescribing practices for this study were provided by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund. The analysis included the number of prescriptions, cost, and the number of packages prescribed. Results: Over the 11 years, dentists in Croatia have prescribed a total of 9132 opioid prescriptions, representing annually on average 1,1% of all analgesic prescriptions, and 0,2% of all dental prescriptions. The number of opioid prescriptions per 1,000 dental patients was on average 0, 19. Tramadol/paracetamol and tramadol were the most prescribed opioids, with average annual number of prescriptions amounting to 622, 7 (64% of opioids prescriptions) and 114, 5 (1, 1% of analgesic prescriptions), respectively. Trends in opioid prescription varied, especially during pandemic years (2020-2022), when tramadol rates decreased while fixed combination medications tramadol/paracetamol and tramadol/dexketoprofen increased. But an overall increasing trend was observed during that period. Conclusion: Dentists in Croatia are restrictive and conservative in prescribing opioids, and there is no need for intervention, but because of increasing trends, observing the prescribing pattern in the future is highly recommended.

Indexed as

AnalgesiaAnti-inflammatory medicationCroatiaDentistsMeSH terms: Prescription DrugsNSAIDOpioid analgesicsPain medicationsPain reliefPrescriptions

Identifiers

PMID39925687
PMCPMC11801261

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