OBJECTIVES: To determine the trend of the use of opioid analgesics in Colombian patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated in a multicentric cohort in 21 cities of Colombia from 2011 to 2017.

METHODS: Retrospective cohort observational study, which included adult patients with RA under management by IPS-E in Colombia, We included patients with diagnosis between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012, taking the first visit with rheumatology as an index date in this period; And a monthly follow-up of the medication received with interest in the use of opioids and other analgesics was carried out until December 31, 2017, patients with loss of follow-up or death were censored. Sociodemographic variables, use of opioids and concomitant prescriptions were evaluated. Multivariate analyzes were performed in SPSS 24.0

RESULTS: We included 1329 patients with a diagnosis of RA in treatment and follow-up. With a mean age of 61.2 ± 11.8 years and female predominance (n = 936, 82.9%). During the months of follow-up (60 - 84 months) a total of 1129 (84.9%) patients used an opioid, and an increasing trend of use in the cohort during follow-up. 46.7% of patients used opioids for more than 12 months. The most commonly used opioids were codeine (76.3%) and tramadol (71.1%). For the management of RA, it was found that all patients use conventional DMARDs and 179 (15.9%) use biological DMARDs, 966 systemic corticosteroids (85.6%) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in 834 patients (73.9%).

CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients undergoing treatment for RA, a high proportion of opioid use was found for adjuvant analgesic therapy, many of them for prolonged periods of time, in which safety and tolerance considerations make this situation a point to monitor and intervene in this population.