Retrospective Analysis of Patients Prescribed Pregabalin and Gabapentin in Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, and Rheumatology Outpatient Clinics

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the use of gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) in the management of pain in musculoskeletal diseases, and to evaluate the demographic characteristics, comorbidities and reasons for prescribing these drugs.Materials and Methods: Between January 2023 and July 2024, 615 patients aged ≥18 years who applied to Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Rheumatology outpatient clinic and received gabapentinoid treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory values [C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and creatinine], doses of gabapentinoid drugs, and reasons for prescription were obtained from the patient record system.Results: The mean age of the patients included in the study was 59.8±12.6 years and 78.2% were female. The most common comorbidities in all patients were hypertension (51.3%), rheumatological diseases (36.5%) and diabetes mellitus (30.3%), respectively. The most common rheumatological diseases were rheumatoid arthritis (40.6%) and spondyloarthritis (39.3%). The rate of rheumatological comorbidity was statistically significantly higher in the pregabalin group (60.5%) compared to the gabapentin group (32.8%) (p