Objective:

To describe the type of patients that exceed the defined daily dose (DDD) of immediate-release fentanyl in a health area.

Material and methods:

Observational, descriptive study, carried out in a health area of 256,807 inhabitants, which included all patients who passed the immediate-release fentanyl DDD in December 2019.

Results:

29 patients were detected, 58.6% female, with a median age of 59 (31-87) years, who exceeded an average of 3 (1.1-10) times the immediate-release fentanyl DDD, in its different presentations, being the indication in 69% of cases chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP). The majority of patients took benzodiazepines (79.3%) and the highest percentage of first-prescriptions for inmediate-release fentanyl came from primary care (38%).

Conclusions:

In our study, the inappropriate use or possible abuse of immediate-release fentanyl occurs in a greater proportion in patients with CNCP, and in most cases the first prescription was made in primary care. We did not observe a clear relationship with psychiatric pathology or other addictions.

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