Opioids increasingly prescribed for minor injuries

The study analysed the period 2008-2018. Keystone / Fred Zwicky

The amount of opioid painkillers prescribed to patients in Switzerland between 2008 and 2018 almost doubled, according to a study.

An analysis by Baden Cantonal Hospital showed that prescriptions of opioids rose by 91.4% when it came to treating light injuries and by 88.3% for serious injuries.

The study involved data relating to some two million patients suffering from fractures, bruising, sprains or minor injuries over the ten-year period.

+ Read more: gaps found in opioid prescription oversight

The researchers say the increase is especially worrying since opioids are not necessarily more effective than other painkillers in treating locomotive pain after an accident, and they can come with problematic side-effects. These include cognitive troubles, nausea, hypersensitivity and the risk of addiction.

The study is not the first to show the dramatic increase in opioid usage in Switzerland – others have shown that the country is in the top four globally for prescriptions. However, the researchers say their discovery of the extent of opioid use in treating minor injuries is a new development.

Researchers from the University of Bern, Inselspital Bern, Bern’s University of Applied Sciences, and the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) were also involved in the study, which was published in the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.