ArticleInternational journal of clinical pharmacy2025
A cross-sectional study of prescribing of antiseizure medication for the treatment of pain in Australia.
Article in International journal of clinical pharmacy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pregabalin dependence, withdrawal, suicidality and psychosis reports: A disproportionality analysis of the Australian adverse events database.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Australian trends in the initiation of valproate medication among women of reproductive age and concurrent use of prescription contraceptives.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAntiseizure medications, particularly gabapentinoids like pregabalin, are increasingly prescribed for pain management. Despite their growing use, evidence of their effectiveness for pain is mixed. This highlights the need for a clearer understanding of the prevalence and prescribing patterns of antiseizure medications in pain management.
aimTo investigate the initiation of antiseizure medications in people with and without pain or epilepsy diagnoses and to explore the concurrent use of opioids.
methodThis cross-sectional study used deidentified primary care data from 542 general practices in Victoria, Australia. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze antiseizure medication prevalence, concurrent opioid use, and prescribing patterns by age and gender.
resultsWe identified 171,619 primary care patients who initiated an antiseizure medication between January 1, 2018, and May 31, 2023, among whom 80.1% had pain without epilepsy. Pregabalin was the most commonly prescribed medicine (58.2%), followed by sodium valproate (7.0%), gabapentin (6.9%), and clonazepam (6.7%). Among younger patients (14-49 years old) with an epilepsy diagnosis, women were twice as likely as men to initiate topiramate (6.5% vs 4.4%) and lamotrigine (21.8% vs 11.4%), while men were more commonly initiated with sodium valproate (38.7% vs 18.9%).
conclusionGiven the widespread off-label use of gabapentinoids and the potential for serious harm, further research is warranted to better understand their clinical and safety outcomes.
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Registered trials
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