title: [Antiepileptic treatment nearly six times more expensive since 1990].
abstract: There is a six-fold increase in the costs for antiepileptic drug prescriptions in Sweden from 1990 to 2000. This is mainly caused by a gradual increase in the prescribing of new and more expensive drugs, since the total use of antiepileptic drugs, expressed as defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants, is almost unchanged during the same time period. A marked variation in the prescribing of new antiepileptic drugs between different counties in Sweden, suggests that the role of the new compounds is still unclear. The cost effectiveness of new antiepileptic drugs in relation to the older drugs requires further evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Huddinge Universitetssjukhus. peter.persson@apoteket.se
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: Asmeret
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russom
authors.forename: Torbjörn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomson
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics*; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000639:trends*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007250:Inflation, Economic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants