Tramadol prescription patterns in patients followed by general practitioners and orthopedists in Germany in the year 2015.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to analyze tramadol prescription patterns in acute pain patients followed by general practitioners and orthopedists in Germany.

METHODS

This study included patients ≥18 years diagnosed with acute pain who received at least one tramadol prescription each in one of 1,129 general or 179 orthopedic practices in Germany between January and December 2015 (index date). Patients were excluded if they had received a prescription for another analgesic in the year prior to the index date, had a follow-up of less than 15 months after the index date, or were prescribed tramadol for a period of more than three months. The main outcome of this retrospective study was the share of patients receiving tramadol in combination therapy. Combination therapy was defined as the prescription of tramadol in conjunction with at least one other analgesic during the same medical visit.

RESULTS

The present study included a total of 8,766 individuals. Overall, 1,492 (22.0%) of tramadol patients seen by general practitioners and 370 (18.7%) of those seen by orthopedists received tramadol in combination with other analgesics. Although this proportion was similar throughout the different subgroups in orthopedic practices, it was considerably higher in patients >80 years and in those with private health insurance coverage in general practices.

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately one of five tramadol patients was prescribed tramadol in combination therapy. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the demographic and clinical factors that have an effect on tramadol prescription patterns in Germany.