Comparative Pharmacoepidemiological Analysis on Analgesics Consumption in the Republic of Serbia and Nordic Countries in the Period 2015-2018

Introduction/Aim. Analgesics are drugs used in the pain pharmacotherapy and are one of the most prescribed drugs in all countries. Modern pain pharmacotherapy involves the use of analgesic steps. The objective of this paper was to analyze the consumption of drugs used in the pain pharmacotherapy in the Republic of Serbia (RS), in the period from 2015 to 2018, and to compare the obtained results with the consumption of the mentioned drugs in the Kingdom of Norway (KN) and the Republic of Finland (RF) in the same time period interval. Material and methods. Data on drug consumption were taken from the website of the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Serbia, the official website of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and from the official website of the Finnish Medicines Agency. The consumption of medicines is monitored using the defined daily dose (DDD) methodology. Results. Paracetamol consumption was 13 to even 20 times lower in the RS compared to the KN and 10 to 15 times lower compared to the RF. The average consumption of diclofenac during the four observed years was about 30 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day in the RS, about 7 in the KN and about 4 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day in the RF. Conclusion. In the pain pharmacotherapy in the RS, the consumption of non -steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is dominated by diclofenac, while in the KN and the RF ibuprofen and paracetamol from nonopioids.