Table 4 Proportion of patients receiving a prescription for at least one analgesic drug according to WHO ladder and route of administration for patients with incident dementia and matched controls
Characteristics | Dementia group (n = 1,848) (in %) | Control group (n = 7,385) (in %) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
WHO step I drugs | Â | Â | Â |
Diclofenac (mono) | 19.5 | 21.6 | 0.04 |
Metamizole | 18.7 | 12.8 | <0.0001 |
Total | 42.8 | 40.7 | 0.11 |
WHO step II drugs | Â | Â | Â |
Tramadol | 8.8 | 6.0 | <0.0001 |
Tilidine/naloxone | 4.1 | 3.9 | 0.77 |
Total | 14.7 | 11.4 | 0.0001 |
WHO step III drugs | Â | Â | Â |
Fentanyl | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.16 |
Oxycodone | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.65 |
Total | 4.2 | 3.6 | 0.19 |
Route of administration | Â | Â | Â |
Liquid oral | 19.2 | 12.8 | <0.0001 |
Transdermal | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.03 |
Total (at least one analgesic) | 47.5 | 44.7 | 0.03 |