Print “PDF version”
What’s New in the
Patient Safety World
June 2022
Gabapentin and
Overdoses
Gabapentinoids have become widely used in pain management. In fact, they are among the top 20 most prescribed medications in the US. We used to consider them as relatively safe drugs, perhaps one of the factors contributing to their widespread use. But, over the past 5 years, there have been many reports that have raised red flags about gabapentinoids, particularly when they are used in conjunction with opioids.
Overdose deaths due to gabapentinoids alone are quite rare. However, gabapentinoids are being found in more and more fatal overdose cases. (Mattson 2022) has found that gabapentin-involved overdose deaths have increased in recent years. In almost 60,000 fatal overdoses analyzed, 9.7% had detectable gabapentin on toxicology testing, and 52.3% of those were labeled as “gabapentin-involved” deaths. Opioids, whether prescription or street drugs, were involved in 85-90% of cases. Illicit fentanyl has increased recently as a cause of these overdose deaths.
Some of our prior columns on safety issues with gabapentinoids:
- November 2017 “Bad Combination:
Gabapentin and Opioids”
- March 2019 “Gabapentin and
Pregabalin on the Radar Screen”
- January 2020 “FDA Warning on Gabapentinoids”
- February 25, 2020 “More on Perioperative Gabapentinoids”
- January 2021 “Gabapentinoids Again”
References:
Mattson CL, Chowdhury F, Gilson TP. Notes from the Field: Trends in gabapentin detection and involvement in drug overdose deaths — 23 states and the District of Columbia, 2019–2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022; 71: 664-666
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7119a3.htm?s_cid=mm7119a3_w#suggestedcitation
Print “PDF version”
http://www.patientsafetysolutions.com/
What’s New in
the Patient Safety World Archive