Loading...
In the U.S., gabapentin is FDA-approved only for treating patients with partial seizures or postherpetic neuralgia. However, most gabapentin prescriptions are written off-label for pain management, despite limited evidence of its efficacy. Furthermore, some clinicians concurrently prescribe gabapentin and opioids, even though concurrent use is associated with excess risk for opioid-related overdose death (PLoS Med 2017; 14:e1002396). In this study, researchers used pharmacy claims data and determined trends in concurrent gabapentin and opioid prescribing in the U.S. between 2006 and 2018.
Opioid prescriptions totaled 37 million in 2006, peaked at 56 million in 2012, and decreased to 42 million in 2018. Gabapentin prescriptions totaled 1.5 mi…