[Tapentadol versus classical WHO-III opioids for chronic back pain. Health services research study based on representative data from health insurance funds].

Background/objective: In clinical trials, tapentadol prolonged release (PR) showed a more favourable gastrointestinal tolerability profile compared to other strong opioids in the treatment of pain. The present analysis compared tapentadol PR and classical WHO-III PR opioids in routine clinical practice.
Method: Retrospective cohort study (matched pair approach) using anonymised health insurance data of patients with chronic low back pain who were prescribed strong opioids following pretreatment with WHO-I/II analgesics. Data were analysed from the date of first prescription in 2015 over a maximum period of two years. The primary analysis parameter was the prescription of laxatives.
Results: Data of 227 patients per cohort could be included in the analysis. Significantly fewer tapentadol PR than WHO-III PR patients were prescribed laxatives (20.3% vs. 37%; p < 0.0001). In addition, laxative dosages were significantly lower in the tapentadol PR cohort (26.4 vs. 82.5 defined daily doses; p < 0.0001). A significant difference in laxative prescription was also observed under long-term treatment (tapentadol PR patients 27.7% vs. WHO-III PR patients 50%; p = 0.0029).
Conclusion: Routine clinical practice indirectly confirmed the more favourable gastrointestinal tolerability of tapentadol PR in the treatment of chronic pain which had previously been demonstrated in clinical trials and non-interventional studies.
(© 2022. Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)