Outcomes Study: Gabapentin: Utilization Evaluation at Mental Health Facilities

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Outcomes Study: Gabapentin: Utilization Evaluation at Mental Health Facilities

Background

  • Gabapentin has two FDA indications:

1.Treatment of partial seizures in adults and pediatric patients three years and older with epilepsy

2.Post-herpetic neuralgia

  • Since gabapentin reached the market in 1993, the number of off-label use of gabapentin has continued to increase
  • 95% of gabapentin prescribing is for off-label uses, including mental health and medical diagnoses
  • Not all psychiatric off-label uses have positive evidence to support prescribing
    • One contributing factor could be the false marketing by the drug company when gabapentin first came to the market
  • A 2012 surveyed of specialists in the areas of psychiatry, pain, and neurology found:
    • Most physicians learned about off-label uses through word of mouth or conferences
    • Negative results in studies did not deter use due to positive personal experience with prescribing gabapentin


Objectives

The primary objective of this study was to assess the utilization of gabapentin at three mental health facilities.



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