Objective: To describe the patterns of consumption in an opioid analgesic group in Slovakia between 1998 and 2002, to determine prescription habits, and to compare the results with those from selected countries.
Methods: A drug utilization study using WHO methodology [Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical classification/defined daily doses (ATC/DDD)] was made. The wholesale data from the State Institute of Drug Control in the Slovak Republic and drug safety reports from the National Centre for Supervision of Adverse Drug Reaction were collected. Utilization was calculated as the DDDs per 1000 inhabitants per day.
Results: Consumption of opioid analgesics (ATC class N02AA-N02AX) in Slovakia was still growing during the study with dominance of tramadol. In comparison with other countries in 2001, consumption of morphine (as a representative of analyzed ATC class) in Slovakia (0.17 DDD/1000 inhabitants per day) is still very low, in contrast with Denmark, Austria or Canada (1.80, 1.61 and 1.58 DDD/1000 inhabitants per day, respectively). The collected safety reports contained only a few reported adverse reactions to the opioid analgesics.
Conclusion: Despite recent increases, the consumption of opioid analgesics in the Slovak republic remains low. We have tried to present an overall picture of prescription of opioid analgesics in Slovakia and to focus attention on this topic.