TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2012//
TI  - 3-year prevalence of alcohol-related disorders in German patients treated with high-potency opioids
JO  - Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
A1  - Jobski, Kathrin
A1  - Schmid, Ulrike
A1  - Behr, Sigrid
A1  - Andersohn, Frank
A1  - Garbe, Edeltraut
SP  - 1125
EP  - 1129
VL  - 21
IS  - 10
N2  - PURPOSE: In November 2010, the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use completed a review of the safety and effectiveness of modified-release oral high-potency opioids (HPO). The reason for this referral procedure was the concern that some of these controlled-release systems may be unstable when co-ingested with alcohol and that the active substance would be released too quickly. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of alcohol-related disorders (ARD) in German patients treated with HPO approved for pain therapy. METHODS: The source of data was the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database including more than 14 million members of four statutory health insurances. The age and sex standardized 3-year prevalence of ARD in patients treated with any type of HPO and in patients receiving modified-release oral HPO was compared with the prevalence of ARD in the general population excluding HPO-treated patients. RESULTS: The age and sex standardized prevalence of ARD was significantly higher in patients treated with any type of HPO (5.5%, 95%confidence interval [CI]: 5.2%-5.9%) or with modified-release HPO (5.4%, 95%CI: 4.8%-5.9%) than in persons belonging to the general population (2.2%, 95%CI: 2.2-2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Interactions with alcohol in patients receiving modified-release HPO may be of relevance in a substantial number of patients. Physicians should be aware of this potentially dangerous interaction. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1053-8569
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pds.3268
ID  - ref1
ER  -