Table 4 Most common “As Needed” drug subgroup at admission (T0) and the day of death (T1)
From: Prescription trends at the end of life in a palliative care unit: observational study
ATC-code | Drug subgroup | Prescription “as needed” | p-value a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
T0 | T1 | |||
n (%) | n (%) | |||
N02A | Opioid analgesics | 88 (76.5) | 106 (92.2) | 0.001b |
N02B | Non-opioid analgesics and antipyretics | 52 (45.2) | 57 (49.6) | 0.552 |
A06A | Drugs for constipation | 41 (35.7) | 34 (29.6) | 0.324 |
A03F | Propulsives | 29 (25.2) | 44 (38.3) | 0.032b |
N05C | Hypnotics | 24 (20.9) | 32 (27.8) | 0.215 |
N05A | Antipsychotics | 23 (20.0) | 74 (64.3) | < 0.001b |
A10A | Insulins and analogues | 17 (14.8) | 7 (6.1) | 0.031b |
N05B | Anxiolytics | 16 (13.9) | 43 (37.4) | < 0.001 |
A04A | Antiemetics and antinauseants | 9 (7.8) | 5 (4.3) | 0.289 |
A03B | Belladonna and derivatives, plain | 4 (3.5) | 25 (21.7) | < 0.001b |
A02B | Drugs for peptic ulcer and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease | 2 (1.7) | 0 | – |
C09A | Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, plain | 2 (1.7) | 1 (0.9) | 1.000 |
M01A | Antiinflammatory and antirheumatic products, non-steroids | 1 (0.9) | 2 (1.7) | 1.000 |
B02A | Antifibrinolytics | 1 (0.9) | 5 (4.3) | 0.219 |
A07D | Antipropulsives | 0 | 2 (1.7) | – |