Table 1 Descriptive characteristic of osteoarthritic patients and General Practitioners and Defined Daily Dose (DDD) during the year preceding the study period
Experimental arm | Control arm | |
|---|---|---|
N (%) | N (%) | |
General Practitioners (GPs) | 8 | 7 |
Sex | ||
F | 1 (12.5) | 3 (42.9) |
M | 7 (87.5) | 4 (57.1) |
Number of patients | ||
Mean | 7.3 | 8.4 |
Range | (1–20) | (4–17) |
Patients | 58 | 59 |
Sex | ||
F | 46 (79.3) | 49 (83.1) |
M | 12 (20.7) | 10 (16.9) |
Age | ||
Mean | 79.6 | 78.5 |
Range | (65–95) | (65–97) |
Age classes | ||
65–74 | 15 (25.9) | 16 (27.1) |
75–84 | 27 (46.6) | 30 (50.8) |
85+ | 16 (27.6) | 13 (22.0) |
Prescription during the year before randomization | ||
NSAIDs | ||
Users | 27 (46.6) | 28 (47.5) |
Total DDD in the period | 2328.7 | 1030.6 |
DDD per patient, median (IQR) | 40 (20–80) | 26.5 (13.9–60) |
Average DDD per day | 6.38 | 2.82 |
DDD per day per patient, median (IQR) | 0.11 (0.05–0.22) | 0.07 (0.04–0.16) |
Opioids | ||
Users | 16 (27.6) | 22 (37.3) |
Total DDD in the period | 627.0 | 521.4 |
DDD per patient, median (IQR) | 14.5 (4–37.2) | 8 (4–20) |
Average DDD per day | 1.72 | 1.43 |
DDD per day per patient, median (IQR) | 0.04 (0.01–0.10) | 0.02 (0.01–0.05) |
PPIs | ||
Users | 28 (48.3) | 27 (45.8) |
Total DDD in the period | 4249.0 | 3719.3 |
DDD per patient, median (IQR) | 119 (28–203) | 133 (42–182) |
Average DDD per day | 11.64 | 10.19 |
DDD per day per patient, median (IQR) | 0.33 (0.08–0.56) | 0.36 (0.12–0.50) |