title: Use of drugs subject to controlled prescriptions: a retrospective analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Use of drugs that may lead to abuse or dependence are subject to controlled prescriptions (CPs) in many countries, and these are closely monitored by health authorities. According to national regulations in Turkey, CPs may be red coloured (RCPs) or green coloured (GCPs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of such drugs in Istanbul.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  During the study period (01/01-31/12 2009), 502874 CPs were reported. Among these, 4000 CPs each month were randomly selected and evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of GCPs were issued to women (55.6%), while the majority of RCPs were issued to men (68.4%). GCPs were most frequently prescribed by physicians working in private hospitals (33.6%) while RCPs by physicians working in university hospitals (39.7%). GCPs were mostly prescribed by psychiatrists (37.6%) while for RCPs were child and adolescent psychiatrists (35.9%). Psycholeptics (ATC code N05) were the most prescribed controlled drugs (CDs) (43.8%). Methylphenidate (53.9%) was the mostly prescribed on RCPs and alprazolam (39.6%) was on GCPs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrate that utilization of CDs shows demographical and institutional differences. These data could be of help to improve surveillance of CDs as well as to train prescribers and patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Demircan
authors.affiliation: INSERM CIC-P 0005 Pharmacoépidémiologie, Service de Pharmacologie, Université Bordeaux Segalen, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Sinem Ezgi
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gülmez
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Başak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dönertaş
authors.affiliation: Public Health Directorate of İstanbul, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Topcu
authors.affiliation: Provincial Health Directorate of İstanbul, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Berkman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akıcı
keywords: Controlled prescriptions; controlled medicines; green and red coloured scripts; narcotics; psychotropic medications