Pertinent guidelines recommend opioid-type analgesics for management of severe @entity158 . However, in the past, opioids were prescribed for only a minority of these @entity1 . In this representative study we examined the prevalence of @entity5 @entity1 with and without opioid prescription in their final year of life in 1993 and 1996 in Bremen, Northern Germany. METHODS: Complete four-months-samples of @entity1 with @entity5 in Bremen were abstracted from the death certificates of 1993 and 1996. For the final years of these @entity1 information on opioid-type prescriptions were recorded using the duplicates kept in the pharmacies. To assure data privacy the matching was performed in a cryptographic computer program installed on laptop computers. RESULTS: A total 489 (453) prescriptions could be matched to 435 (421) deceased @entity1 with @entity5 in 1993 (1996) in 92% of all pharmacies in Bremen. In 1996, 20% of the @entity1 with @entity5 received at least one prescription, including 14.5% who received opioids for eight weeks or longer. Average @entity1286 -equivalent for each treated @entity1 was 3712 mg (median=462 mg). There was no trend in prescription prevalence and the proportion of prescribing medical practices. The proportion of @entity1 who received opioids for longer periods increased 4%. However, among the treated @entity1 the average @entity1286 -equivalent increased 23%. CONCLUSION: The prescription prevalence of opioids remains low among @entity5 @entity1 in their final year of life. However, our study provides some evidence for positive developments with respect to prescription times and dosage between 1993 and 1996. These changes are likely due to a limited subgroup of practioners.

[Treatment of XXXX with opioid analgesics in outpatients 1993 and 1996. Results of a population based evaluation].

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity1286 :: ('MESH:D009020', 'Chemical') :: ['morphine'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['cancer'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['pain']
@entity5 :: (MESH:D009369,Disease) :: ['cancer pain']
