Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
-
Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Jul 2009
Analgesic prescribing for musculoskeletal complaints in the ambulatory care setting after the introduction and withdrawal of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors.
To evaluate the analgesic prescribing patterns for musculoskeletal complaints in a nationally representative sample of ambulatory care visits over a dynamic period of pharmaceutical treatments. ⋯ COX-2 inhibitors may have been prescribed as substitutes for nsNSAIDs initially, but nsNSAID prescriptions returned to prior levels by 2005 as COX-2 inhibitor prescriptions declined. An increase in nonnarcotic analgesic prescribing in 2005 may have been caused by a class effect concern for NSAIDs. Prescribing of opiate analgesics and adjuvant analgesics increased over the study period, although apparently not in substitution for NSAIDs.