Anne Bénard-Laribière1, Jérémy Jové2, Régis Lassalle2, Philip Robinson2, Cécile Droz-Perroteau2, Pernelle Noize3. 1. Service de pharmacologie médicale, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France. 2. CIC Bordeaux CIC1401, Bordeaux, France ADERA, Pessac, France. 3. Service de pharmacologie médicale, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France CIC Bordeaux CIC1401, Bordeaux, France INSERM, U657, Bordeaux, France.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of drug use in outpatient children in France, a population-based study using a national reimbursement claims database representative of 90% of the French population was conducted. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study performed between January and December 2011 using the EGB database (Echantillon Généraliste de Bénéficiaires), a 1/97th sample of the national healthcare insurance system beneficiaries. Drug use in children <18 years old was estimated through reimbursements for prescribed drugs excluding vaccines. Prevalences of use were calculated for different levels of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification by considering as users children who had at least one reimbursement during the study period. RESULTS: In 2011, 133,800 children were included in the study. The overall prevalence of drug use was 84% and the median number of different drugs per child was 5. Drug use was greatest in children aged <2 years. The most widely used drugs were paracetamol, systemic anti-infectives, nasal corticosteroids and decongestants, and anti-histamines. 21% children <2 years received domperidone. CONCLUSIONS: There is widespread use of medicines that are unlikely to be effective and may have significant toxicity in French children. Irrational use of medicines appears to be greatest in children aged 5 years and under. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of drug use in outpatientchildren in France, a population-based study using a national reimbursement claims database representative of 90% of the French population was conducted. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study performed between January and December 2011 using the EGB database (Echantillon Généraliste de Bénéficiaires), a 1/97th sample of the national healthcare insurance system beneficiaries. Drug use in children <18 years old was estimated through reimbursements for prescribed drugs excluding vaccines. Prevalences of use were calculated for different levels of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification by considering as users children who had at least one reimbursement during the study period. RESULTS: In 2011, 133,800 children were included in the study. The overall prevalence of drug use was 84% and the median number of different drugs per child was 5. Drug use was greatest in children aged <2 years. The most widely used drugs were paracetamol, systemic anti-infectives, nasal corticosteroids and decongestants, and anti-histamines. 21% children <2 years received domperidone. CONCLUSIONS: There is widespread use of medicines that are unlikely to be effective and may have significant toxicity in French children. Irrational use of medicines appears to be greatest in children aged 5 years and under. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
Entities:
Keywords:
Epidemiology; General Paediatrics; Pharmacology
Authors: Yan Yue; Libin Chen; Imti Choonara; Tao Xiong; Shalini Ojha; Jun Tang; Yan Wang; Linan Zeng; Jing Shi; Hua Wang; Dezhi Mu Journal: J Int Med Res Date: 2020-05 Impact factor: 1.671