2018
DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s168504
|View full text |Cite
|
Sign up to set email alerts
|

Gabapentin use, abuse, and the US opioid epidemic: the case for reclassification as a controlled substance and the need for pharmacovigilance

Abstract: The abuse potential of gabapentin is well documented; with gabapentin having been noted as an agent highly sought after for use in potentiating opioids. When combined with opioids, the risk of respiratory depression and opioid-related mortality increases significantly. In the US, gabapentin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a non-controlled substance. To date, and in spite of empirical evidence suggestive of diversion and abuse with opioids, gabapentin remains a non-controlled substance at th… Show more

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...
3

Citation Types

1
60
0
1

Year Published

2018
2018
2022
2022

Publication Types

Select...
6

Relationship

0
6

Authors

Journals

citations
Cited by 77 publications
(62 citation statements)
references
References 17 publications
1
60
0
1
Order By: Relevance
“…Appropriate dosing adjustments should be made in patients receiving gabapentin in case of renal insufficiency. On the hand, our case reinforced the policy that gabapentin be the schedule V controlled substances in more and more states . Prescribers should be aware of high‐risk population and monitor for signs of abuse.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 54%
See 2 more Smart Citations
“…Appropriate dosing adjustments should be made in patients receiving gabapentin in case of renal insufficiency. On the hand, our case reinforced the policy that gabapentin be the schedule V controlled substances in more and more states . Prescribers should be aware of high‐risk population and monitor for signs of abuse.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 54%
“…Gabapentin was originally approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993 for epilepsy and later, postherpetic neuralgia . Recently, gabapentin has been increasingly used in some off‐label indications as a desired alternative of opioids for pain management, probably due to its relative low rate of adverse effect and low cost. However, in recent years, reports of recreational gabapentin abuse or intentional misuse have increased at an alarming rate with reported adverse effects .…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
See 1 more Smart Citation
“…Recent international findings indicate that misuse of gabapentin in concert with opioids is a substantial threat to public health 3456789101112. There is an immediate need for international harmonisation of the classification of gabapentin as a controlled substance in light of known misuse potential 13. The US Food and Drug Administration has emphasised the need for programmatic pharmacovigilance of gapapentin prescribing,15 but such an effort has yet to be crafted 1314…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Given the shift in regulation in the UK,1 we call for hastened re-evaluation of the non-schedule status of gabapentin in the US and the necessity of establishing a programmatic pharmacovigilance protocol at the federal level 1316. By mandating the incorporation of gabapentin into prescription drug monitoring programmes in the US, we could potentially mitigate the known levels of gabapentin misuse10 that may be adversely affecting the opioid epidemic 3…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%