An Up-to-Date Description of the Use of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in Italy: Evidence from Real Clinical Practice

Abstract

Introduction

The prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) covered by the Italian National Health Service is limited to certain pathologies defined in the 2018 update of Note 66 of the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), meant to ensure appropriate use of NSAIDs. This analysis was conducted in real clinical practice to describe NSAID utilization from 2019 to 2022 with respect to Note 66 update.

Methods

For this real-world analysis, data were extracted from the administrative databases of healthcare institutions covering ~ 9.1 million citizens. From 2019 to 2022, all subjects with ≥ 1 NSAID prescription were identified. Demographic and clinical characteristics, the proportion of NSAID-treated patients over time, the most prescribed molecules, and drug consumption defined as daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants/day were recorded.

Results

The percentage NSAID-treated patients showed a slight increase over time (1.9–3.0%). The most prescribed active ingredients were diclofenac, ketoprofen, nimesulide, etoricoxib, and ibuprofen. NSAID consumption increased from 15.5 to 16.8 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day over 2020–2022, especially in older patients (65–74 years group: 36.2–39.3 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day). From 2019 to 2022, 2,811,910 patients with NSAID prescription(s) in Note 66 were identified, whose average age was 59.7 years. Among them, 0.1–1.0% received NSAIDs for rheumatic diseases and 11.9% in the oncological setting. While diclofenac, etoricoxib, and ketoprofen were commonly prescribed at medium–low dosage as recommended, ibuprofen was used at high dosage (600 mg) in 80% of cases.

Conclusion

The analysis showed that patients prescribed with NSAIDs were relatively young (~ 60 years), in contrast with the pathologies covered by Note 66, which typically affect elderly people. Moreover, rheumatic and oncological diseases were poorly represented, thus it is possible that NSAIDs might have been prescribed for indications outside the note. These findings suggest that the use of NSAIDs for pain management in Italy should be optimized, properly weighting their risks and benefits.