Gabapentin and US Overdose Deaths: 10 Questions
Gabapentin prescribing has escalated steadily in recent years, with 69 million prescriptions for the anticonvulsant dispensed in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There is concern that many of those prescriptions are for off-label purposes and, beyond that, that large amounts of the drug are being abused, most often in combination with opioids, both prescribed and illicit.
With the rise in apparent use have come a disturbing number of reports of gabapentin-involved overdose deaths, a number that doubled in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2019, the CDC reports.
Try the 10 questions in this quiz, based on a recent MMWR Notes from the Field report, to find out what you know about the trend and, equally important, what you may not know.
