Evaluation of Treatment Patterns and Direct Costs Associated with the Management of Neuropathic Pain
Table 3
Patterns of use of initial medications prescribed for the treatment of patients with neuropathic pain in Colombia.
Medication
At starta
Any timeb
Mean dose (mg/day)
Most frequent interval
nDDD
Mean age ± SD
n
%
n
%
Tramadol
209
33.5
411
65.9
22
3
0.07
47.0 ± 13.0
Carbamazepine
164
26.3
221
35.4
234.1
1
0.23
52.0 ± 14.2
Amitriptyline
137
22
240
38.5
26.3
1
0.35
48.5 ± 14.4
Imipramine
34
5.4
74
11.9
18.5
1
0.18
50.8 ± 12.2
Pregabalin
28
4.5
149
23.9
171.4
1
0.57
64.9 ± 12.9
Gabapentin
19
3
64
10.3
357.8
1
0.20
51.1 ± 14.5
Lidocaine
14
2.2
38
6.1
–––
3
–––
60.8 ± 13.4
Fluoxetine
13
2.1
92
14.7
21.5
1
1.05
52.9 ± 8.5
Sertraline
4
0.6
40
6.4
50
1
1.00
51.7 ± 14.9
Valproic acid
2
0.3
31
5.0
500
1 and 3
0.33
49.0 ± 6.3
nDDD: ratio between the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) and the dose used; SD: standard deviation.a Frequency of use of each medication at the beginning of the follow-up.b Frequency of use of each medication during any time of follow-up.
