title: Results of a 2-year retrospective cohort study of newly prescribed triptan users in European nationwide practice databases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to characterize prescription refill patterns for triptans among European patients with new prescriptions of triptans.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Persistency with prescriptions of triptan monotherapy for migraine headache among newly prescribed users in European primary-care practices has not been well described.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using electronic medical databases in the UK (N = 3618), France (N = 2051) and Germany (N = 954), we conducted a retrospective cohort analysis to identify refill patterns over 2 years among migraineurs receiving new prescriptions of triptan monotherapy in 2006.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of all patients, >33% of migraineurs with new triptan prescriptions received ≥1 refill of their index triptan prescriptions (UK, 44.3%; France, 34.2%; Germany, 37.7%). More than 50% never received index-triptan refill prescriptions (UK, 55.7%; France, 65.8%; Germany, 63.3%). Small proportions of patients (<7.0%) switched to alternative triptans, and even fewer switched to different prescription-medication classes (UK and Germany, 2.3%; France, 4.0%). More than 48% of patients received no further prescriptions for migraine after index prescriptions (UK, 48.5%; France, 54.9%; Germany, 54.7%). After the second year, >83.0% of patients in each country had no further prescriptions for migraine medications, <14.0% remained persistent with index prescriptions, <4.0% switched to other triptans, and <3.0% switched to alternative medication classes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In migraine patients who received new prescriptions of triptan monotherapy from their primary-care physicians, poor triptan prescription refill frequency was observed in Europe. Although consistent with potential clinical challenges in migraine management, our findings should be interpreted with caution given certain inherent limitations associated with the database study design. Further research is warranted to confirm our findings and to identify reasons for, or predictors of, triptan discontinuation.
authors: Global Health Outcomes, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., West Point, PA, USA. daisyngmak.pa@gmail.com
authors: Daisy S
authors: DS
authors: Ng-Mak
authors: Ya-Ting
authors: YT
authors: Chen
authors: Tony W
authors: TW
authors: Ho
authors: Bianca
authors: B
authors: Stanford
authors: Montse
authors: M
authors: Roset
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014363:Tryptamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014363:Tryptamines