Prescribing Trends of Codeine-containing Medications and Other Opioids in Primary Care After A Regulatory Decision: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

The use of paracetamol-codeine combination was effectively decreased in Italy because of AIFA intervention. Instead, prescriptions of tapentadol and oxycodone-naloxone stably increased over the study period irrespective of regulatory intervention. Given that the choice of the most appropriate opioid therapy is not straightforward, especially in elderly and/or comorbid patients, general practitioners should consider carefully alternative therapies on the bases of regulatory interventions.