'Use of antipsychotics in children and adolescents: a picture from the ARITMO population-based European cohort study'

Aims. Prevalence of the use of antipsychotics (APs) in the paediatric population is globally increasing. The aim of this study was to describe multinational trends and patterns in AP use in children and adolescents in Europe. Methods. This was a dynamic retrospective cohort study comprising all children and adolescents (⩽18 years of age). Data were extracted from five population-based electronic healthcare databases in Europe (Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and United Kingdom) from 2000 to 2010. Yearly prevalence and incidence of AP use was expressed per 1000 person-years (PYs). Results. Prevalence increased from 1.44 to 3.41/1000 PYs (2008) in Denmark and from 2.07 to 4.35/1000 PYs in the NL (2009), moderately increased from 2.8 to 3.24/1000 in UK (2009) and from 1.53 to 1.74/1000 PYs in Germany (2008) and remained low from 0.61 to 0.34/1000 PYs in Italy (2010). Similarly, incidence rates increased from 0.69 to 1.52/1000 PYs in Denmark and from 0.86 to 1.49/1000 PYs in the NL, stabilised from 2.29 to 2.37/1000 PYs in the UK and from 0.79 to 0.80/1000 PYs in Germany and remained low from 0.32 to 0.2/1000 PYs in Italy. AP use was highest in 15–18 year olds and in boys compared to girls. Yet, the use observed in the 5–9 year olds was found to be comparatively high in the NL. Prescriptions of second generation APs, especially risperidone, were privileged but the first generation APs were still prescribed in the youngest. Conclusions. A steady increase in AP use in children and adolescents was observed essentially in the NL and Denmark. The use in Germany and Italy was lowest among countries. The use of APs under 9 years of age underlines their off-label use and should be carefully monitored as the risk/benefit ratio of these medications remains unclear in young children. AP use was altogether lower in Europe as compared to that reported in North America

Systemic antibiotic prescribing to paediatric outpatients in 5 European countries: A population-based cohort study

Background: To describe the utilisation of antibiotics in children and adolescents across 5 European countries based on the same drug utilisation measures and age groups. Special attention was given to age-group-specific distributions of antibiotic subgroups, since comparison in this regard between countries is lacking so far.Methods: Outpatient paediatric prescriptions of systemic antibiotics during the years 2005-2008 were analysed using health care databases from the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Germany. Annual antibiotic prescription rates per 1,000 person years were estimated for each database and stratified by age (≤4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-18 years). Age-group-specific distributions of antibiotic subgroups were calculated for 2008.Results: With 957 prescriptions per 1000 person years, the highest annual prescription rate in the year 2008 was found in the Italian region Emilia Romagna followed by Germany (561), the UK (555), Denmark (481) and the Netherlands (294). Seasonal peaks during winter months were most pronounced in countries with high utilisation. Age-group-specific use varied substantially between countries with regard to total prescribing and distributions of antibiotic subgroups. However, prescription rates were highest among children in the age group ≤4 years in all countries, predominantly due to high use of broad s

Antipsychotic drug use in pregnancy: A multinational study from ten countries

Aim: To compare the prevalence and trends of antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy between countries across four continents. Methods: Individually linked health data in Denmark (2000−2012), Finland (2005–2014), Iceland (2004–2017), Norway (2005–2015), Sweden (2006–2015), Germany (2006–2015), Australia (New South Wales, 2004–2012), Hong Kong (2001–2015), UK (2006–2016), and the US (Medicaid, 2000–2013, and IBM MarketScan, 2012–2015) were used. Using a uniformed approach, we estimated the prevalence of antipsychotic use as the proportion of pregnancies where a woman filled at least one antipsychotic prescription within three months before pregnancy until birth. For the Nordic countries, data were meta-analyzed to investigate maternal characteristics associated with the use of antipsychotics. Results: We included 8,394,343 pregnancies. Typical antipsychotic use was highest in the UK (4.4%) whereas atypical antipsychotic use was highest in the US Medicaid (1.5%). Atypical antipsychotic use increased over time in most populations, reaching 2% in Australia (2012) and US Medicaid (2013). In most countries, prochlorperazine was the most commonly used typical antipsychotic and quetiapine the most commonly used atypical antipsychotic. Use of antipsychotics decreased across the trimesters of pregnancy in all populations except Finland. Antipsychotic use was elevated among smokers and those with parity ≥4 in the Nordic countries. Conclusion: Antipsychotic use during pregnancy varied considerably between populations, partly explained by varying use of the typical antipsychotic prochlorperazine, which is often used for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Increasing usage of atypical antipsychotics among pregnant women reflects the pattern that was previously reported for the general population

Antipsychotic drug use in pregnancy: A multinational study from ten countries

Aim: To compare the prevalence and trends of antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy between countries across four continents

Population-based analysis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use among children in four European countries in the SOS project: What size of data platforms and which study designs do we need to assess safety issues?

Background: Data on utilization patterns and safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in children are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utilization of NSAIDs among children in four European countries as part of the Safety Of non-Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (SOS) project.Methods: We used longitudinal patient data from seven databases (GePaRD, IPCI, OSSIFF, Pedianet, PHARMO, SISR, and THIN) to calculate prevalence rates of NSAID use among children (0-18 years of age) from Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and United Kingdom. All databases contained a representative population sample and recorded demographics, diagnoses, and drug prescriptions. Prevalence rates of NSAID use were stratified by age, sex, and calendar time. The person-time of NSAID exposure was calculated by using the duration of the prescription supply. We calculated incidence rates for serious adverse events of interest. For these adverse events of interest, sample size calculations were conducted (alpha = 0.05; 1-beta = 0.8) to determine the amount of NSAID exposure time that would be required for safety studies in children.Results: The source population comprised 7.7 million children with a total of 29.6 million person-years of observation. Of those, 1.3 million children were exposed to at least one of 45 NSAIDs during observation time. Overall prevalence rates of NSAID use in children differed across countries, ranging from 4.4 (Italy) to 197 (Germany) per 1000 person-years in 2007. For Germany, United Kingdom, and Italian pediatricians, we observed high rates of NSAID use among children aged one to four years. For all four countries, NSAID use increased with older age categories for children older than 11. In this analysis, only for ibuprofen (the most frequently used NSAID), enough exposure was available to detect a weak association (relative risk of 2) between exposure and asthma exacerbation (the most common serious adverse event of interest).Conclusions: Patterns of NSAID use in children were heterogeneous across four European countries. The SOS project platform captures data on more than 1.3 million children who were exposed to NSAIDs. Even larger data platforms and the use of advanced versions of case-only study designs may be needed to conclusively assess the safety of these drugs in children

Risk of acute myocardial infarction during use of individual NSAIDs: A nested case-control study from the SOS project

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the risk of AMI for individual NSAIDs.METHODS: A nested case-control study was performed from a cohort of new NSAID users ≥18 years (1999-2011) match