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PREGABALIN CONSUMPTION IN TURKEY: WAS IT AN ABUSE?

EMRAH BILGENER ^1*, BURAK GÜMÜŞ ²

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The gabapentinoids (pregabalin and gabapentin) have been developed as anticonvulsants and have been prescribed increasingly for more than one different medical indication in recent years. Although the risks of addiction and the abuse of them were considered as low probability in the past, recent studies have shown that the situation is very different about them. Especially, pregabalin consumption has become remarkable about its adverse effects. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of the abuse related to pregabalin consumption data between 2004 and 2019. Due to the warnings made by the World Health Organization, the pregabalin consumption has decreased by approximately 50% all around the world in 2019. According to our results, the pregabalin consumption in Turkey has increased by 36 times between 2007 and 2018. After the prescription status was changed in 2019, its consumption has decreased by about 50%, the same as the world. The data obtained in this research indicate that pregabalin has been abused. This abuse has been caused by more than one factor/determinant. The diagnosis treatment guides and the reimbursement rules should be constantly updated and especially the physicians' prescriptions should be controlled more effectively. Otherwise, experiencing similar abuses in the future it will be inevitable.