BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Morphine and petidine are the most commonly used opioids to treat pain in hospitalized patients. Morphine is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by the International Association for the Study of Pain because it is less toxic than petidine, which is still largely used in Brazil and in other developing countries. This study aimed at evaluating the decreased use of petidine after the implementation of an educative program to decrease its consumption. METHOD: Intervention, quantitative and prospective study using as information source the pharmacy database. Petidine prescriptions were monitored with educative interventions on prescribers, orienting about drug effects and suggesting the change to a different opioid, according to criteria established by WHO and the International Association for the Study of Pain. Opioids prescription data were collected from 2005 to 2009 and were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics and linear regression. RESULTS: There has been significant decrease (r =0.96, beta = 0.12, p = 0.003) in the use of petidine, as well as a significant increase in the use of morphine (r = 0.96, beta = 0.47, p = 0.02) during the period. CONCLUSION: The implementation of a multidisciplinary and educational protocol to decrease petidine prescription has significantly contributed to decrease its consumption, showing the efficacy of an educative program.
Morphine; Opioid; Pain; Petidine
