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Context: The annual consumption of opioid analgesics in the U.S. was more than 10 times the world average, whereas that in China was at a moderate level within Asia but much lower than the worldwide average. The opposite situations of opioid use in the U.S. and China revealed totally different problems in the developed versus developing world, that is, overuse versus underuse of opioids.Objectives: This study analyzed the clinical consumption, estimated the needs of pain treatment, and evaluated the adequacy of opioid analgesic consumption in mainland China and its seven regions.Methods: A retrospective analysis of the national and regional consumption of opioid analgesics in mainland China during 2006-2016 was conducted. The adequacy of consumption measure was used to gauge the overall adequacy of opioid analgesic consumption in morphine equivalents (MEs) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain in mainland China and compared with international data. Annual per capita consumption was adopted to measure the clinical consumption of opioid analgesics in MEs at a national level and across seven regions of mainland China. Needs of morphine for cancer pain treatment in mainland China and in its seven regions were estimated and compared with the clinical consumption of opioid analgesics in MEs.Results: The adequacy of consumption measure of mainland China ranged from 0.0041 to 0.0088 during 2006-2016, which was less than 1% of that in the reference countries. The poor North East region had only 10.85% of the cancer pain morphine needs fulfilled. The highest fulfillment rate was 36.02% in rich Southern China, which was 25.9% at the national level.Conclusion: The clinical consumption of opioid analgesics for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain in mainland China was far below the international level. The annual per capita of clinical consumption was lower, and the adequacy of cancer pain treatment was poorer in less developed areas. All these findings call for actions to strengthen pain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little information is available on the need for opioid analgesics based on demographic, economic and disease spectrum data, or on patient affordability of opioid analgesics, in different regions of China. This study analysed the level of, and trends in, opioid analgesic use in different regions of China from 2006 to 2016, calculated the need for opioid analgesics based on demographic, economic and disease spectrum data from the different regions, and analysed the gap between need and actual consumption. Patient affordability of opioid analgesics for cancer pain management was also measured. Opioid analgesic consumption data were obtained from the China Hospital Pharmaceutical Audit (CHPA) database of IQVIA (formerly Quintiles and IMS Health). We assessed the clinical need for opioid analgesics by calculating the morphine use density (MUD, daily defined doses of morphine per 100 000 population) and its growth rate from 2006 to 2016 in China and its seven regions. Regional need for opioid analgesics (in morphine equivalents) was estimated based on regional cancer registration data and standard treatment doses of opioids, as defined by international guidelines for cancer pain management. The study adopts WHO and Health Action International (HAI) methods to evaluate patient affordability of opioid analgesics for cancer pain management using standardized costs in daily defined doses (DDD). The national MUD increased from 1·45 DDD/100 000/day in 2006 to 6·93 DDD/100 000/day in 2016. Southern China had the highest MUD (9·67 DDD/100 000/day), and northwest China had the lowest MUD (3·28 DDD/100 000/day) in 2016. The actual use of morphine equivalents accounted for only 21·5% of the morphine required for cancer pain management at the national level; 26% in east, 36% in south, 11% in southwest, and 12% in northwest China. The DDD costs of all studied opioid analgesics ranged from CNY ¥10·80 to ¥848·88. Except for morphine injections, the out-of-pocket payments for a standard full course of treatment with opioid analgesics were more than the daily disposable income in all regions. Patient affordability of opioid analgesics is low according to the WHO and HAI method. Opioid analgesic use for the management of cancer pain was insufficient relative to needs in China, and varied markedly across regions with different levels of economic development. Long-term use may pose a heavy economic burden to patients. The findings call for actions to strengthen cancer pain management, and to improve the affordability of drugs. The Peking Union Medical College Education Fund. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]