Abstracts by keywords: gynecological practices
Painkillers are one of the most commonly prescribed drug classes [1] and are used for a variety of diseases (e.g. headaches [2], arthritis [3], traumatic injuries [4], postoperative pain [5] and cancer) [6 ]. In 2016, between 22% and 57% of patients in general practices in Europe received painkiller prescriptions [7]. Paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; e.g. ibuprofen or ketoprofen) and opioids (e.g. morphine or fentanyl) are the most commonly used painkillers today. These medicines are available with a prescription or without a prescription, depending on the medication and country. Pain is a very common symptom in women, making its effective treatment extremely important in this population [8–10]. One of the most common types of pain in women is chronic pelvic pain, which can be related to endometriosis [11], premenstrual syndrome [12] or urinary tract infections [13]. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in painkiller prescribing patterns among women [7,14–23]. For example, a 2017 study showed that between 25% and 60% of women in France, Germany and the UK were prescribed such drugs [7]. Other researchers estimated in an Australian study of over 20,400 participants that 13% of women complaining of chronic pain had recently taken opioids and 19% had received non-opioids [20]. Although these studies are of great interest, they were not conducted in gynecological practices in Germany and it is difficult to generalize their results to this setting. The aim of the present study was therefore to analyze the prescription prevalence and patterns of painkillers in gynecological practices in Germany.