Drug use in children: cohort study in three European countries.
OBJECTIVE
To provide an overview of drug use in children in three European countries.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort study, 2000-5.


METHODS
Primary care research databases in the Netherlands (IPCI), United Kingdom (IMS-DA), and Italy (Pedianet).


METHODS
675 868 children aged up to 14 (Italy) or 18 (UK and Netherlands).


METHODS
Prevalence of use per year calculated by drug class (anatomical and therapeutic). Prevalence of "recurrent/chronic" use (three or more prescriptions a year) and "non-recurrent" or "acute" use (less than three prescriptions a year) within each therapeutic class. Descriptions of the top five most commonly used drugs evaluated for off label status within each anatomical class.


RESULTS
Three levels of drug use could be distinguished in the study population: high (>10/100 children per year), moderate (1-10/100 children per year), and low (<1/100 children per year). For all age categories, anti-infective, dermatological, and respiratory drugs were in the high use group, whereas cardiovascular and antineoplastic drugs were always in the low use group. Emollients, topical steroids, and asthma drugs had the highest prevalence of recurrent use, but relative use of low prevalence drugs was more often recurrent than acute. In the top five highest prevalence drugs topical inhaled and systemic steroids, oral contraceptives, and topical or systemic antifungal drugs were most commonly used off label.


CONCLUSIONS
This overview of outpatient paediatric prescription patterns in a large European population could provide information to prioritise paediatric therapeutic research needs.
Sturkenboom
Miriam C J M
MC
Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3000CA Rotterdam, Netherlands. m.sturkenboom@erasmusmc.nl
Verhamme
Katia M C
KM
Nicolosi
Alfredo
A
Murray
Macey L
ML
Neubert
Antje
A
Caudri
Daan
D
Picelli
Gino
G
Sen
Elif Fatma
EF
Giaquinto
Carlo
C
Cantarutti
Luigi
L
Baiardi
Paola
P
Felisi
Maria-Grazia
MG
Ceci
Adriana
A
Wong
Ian C K
IC
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom
D055553:Prescription Drugs