Monitoring of drug prescriptions for children in the county of Jämtland and Sweden as a whole in 1977-1987.

One individual-based (Jämtland) and one population-based (Sweden) monitoring system provided information on the prescription sales of drugs for children in ambulatory care. The overall prescription rate decreased between 1977 and 1987 and it was 20-25% lower in Jämtland than in Sweden as a whole. Antibiotics, drugs for ear, nose and throat diseases and respiratory drugs accounted for three out of four prescriptions. Penicillin V dominated among antibiotics and the prescription rate was stable whereas that of other antibiotics increased. During their first year of life one out of ten children in Jämtland had at least one prescription of antibiotics, during their first five years three out of four children. Prescribing of decongestants, especially systemic, decreased during the study period whereas that of anti-asthmatics increased, partly due to the non-approved use of these drugs for common cough. The results from our study underline the need for pharmaco-epidemiological studies linking prescription data to clinical data in order to answer questions on the rational of present drug treatment practices.