Analysis of the Utilization of Opioids in China during 2014-2016 / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE： To analyze the current status and trend of opioids consumption in China， and to provide reference for rational use of opioids. METHODS： Purchasing data on five opioids as fentanyl， morphine， pethidine， oxycodone and hydromorphone， were extracted from the database of the Medicine Economic Information Network from 2014 to 2016. Drug consumption was measured by the daily dose per million population （unit： S-DDD）， and the consumption amount of all opioids and different dosage forms （including oral dosage form， injection and other form） in China and different districts were analyzed and compared. RESULTS： The consumption amount of five opioids increased from 69.62 S-DDD in 2014 to 78.64 S-DDD in 2016. The consumption amount of hydromorphone and oxycodone showed an upward trend， while the consumption amount of morphine was basically unchanged， and the consumption amount of fentanyl and pethidine showed a downward trend. The consumption amount of oral dosage form increased from 39.77 S-DDD in 2014 to 45.61 S-DDD in 2016， the consumption amount of the injection increased from 20.74 S-DDD in 2014 to 24.23 S-DDD in 2016， and the consumption amount of other form decreased from 9.11 S-DDD in 2014 to 8.81 S-DDD in 2016. The consumption amount of oral dosage form was around twice that of injection， with the gap expanding yearly. Regionally， the consumption amount of five opioids in the eastern region was the highest， followed by the western region， and the lowest but the highest growth rate in the central region from 2014 to 2016 （in 2016， consumption amount of eastern， western and central regions were 94.04， 67.90， 63.78 S-DDD， with increase rate of 8.50％， 11.77％， 16.17％， compared with 2014）. Morphine was the most widely used drug in all regions， followed by fentanyl； in the eastern and central regions， the use of oral and injection dosage form increased year by year； in western region， the use of oral dosage forms increased while that of injection decreased year by year. CONCLUSIONS： The opioids consumption in China is increasing overall， with regional differences. Nonetheless， the overall consumption is still low. On the premise of strict supervision， it is necessary to take measures to promote the rational use of opioids in different areas.