Prescription Patterns of Analgesic Drugs in the Management of Pain Among Palliative Care Patients at a Tertiary Hospital in Oman: A Retrospective Observational Study

Objectives Analgesic drugs are commonly used to alleviate the pain experienced by palliative care (PC) patients. Thus, we sought to determine the prescription patterns of analgesic drugs in the management of pain among haematology and oncology palliative care patients at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) and then see if they were following the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Methods A retrospective observational cross-sectional study was conducted, and adult PC patients prescribed analgesics for pain relief between January 2018 and January 2021 at SQUH constituted the sample. Data were collected from patients' electronic medical records using the SQUH TrakCare system. The data was then presented descriptively using graphs and tables. Results Data from 200 PC patients were analyzed. Breast cancer was the most common malignancy, with 73 (36.5%) patients diagnosed with it. Severe pain was the most reported degree of pain, with exactly 100 (50.0%) patients experiencing it. More patients experienced mild pain than moderate pain. Opioids were the most prescribed analgesics, followed by analgesics and antipyretics, anticonvulsants, and finally non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Paracetamol was the most prescribed analgesic for pain overall, with 127 (63.5%) patients utilizing it. For severe pain, morphine was the most prescribed analgesic, with 65.0% of patients using it. Fentanyl and pregabalin, the strongest two analgesics, increased in prescription for severe pain compared to mild and moderate pain, with both being prescribed to 23.0% of patients suffering from severe pain. The oral route of administration was the most prescribed, with 128 (64.0%) utilizing it. Conclusion This study showed the prescription patterns of analgesic drugs for palliative care patients at SQUH. The findings were similar to those of other studies, though there were some differences. The prescription patterns of analgesic drugs prescribed for the various pain levels among PC patients were found to be in accordance with the WHO guidelines.