Background: Opioid drugs are the most effective drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Rates of opioid use are influenced by a variety of factors. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of use of parenteral opioid drugs in hospitalized patients in a referral teaching hospital.
Methods: In a retrospective study, required data were extracted from medical records of adult patients who had received any parenteral opioid analgesic in the 6-month period from March 2013 to September 2013. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification/Defined Daily Doses (ATC/DDD) system method was used for evaluation of opioid analgesic use in patients.
Results: The overall usage of parenteral opioid analgesics was 730.51 DDDs with meperidine (Pethidine) having the most amounts of use (588.69 DDDs and 33.23 DDDs/100 bed-days). Overall, the male surgery ward and emergency department had the most amounts of use based on the number of DDDs (445.8 DDDs) and per 100 bed-days (1046 DDDs/100 bed-days), respectively. Methadone use was most in the infectious diseases ward.
Conclusion: The trend of parenteral opioid analgesics consumption is increasing in this hospital. Therefore, better adherence to pain treatment guidelines by medical staff is necessary for rational use of these drugs.