title: Drug use in children: cohort study in three European countries.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3000CA Rotterdam, Netherlands. m.sturkenboom@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: Miriam C J M
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sturkenboom
authors.forename: Katia M C
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Verhamme
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicolosi
authors.forename: Macey L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neubert
authors.forename: Daan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caudri
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Picelli
authors.forename: Elif Fatma
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giaquinto
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cantarutti
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baiardi
authors.forename: Maria-Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Felisi
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ceci
authors.forename: Ian C K
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs