• E Carracedo-Martínez, A Pia-Morandeira, and A Figueiras.
• Santiago de Compostela Health Area, Galician Health Service (Servizo Galego de Saúde - SERGAS), Spanish National Health System, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
• J Clin Pharm Ther. 2017 Apr 1; 42 (2): 185-188.

What Is Known And ObjectivePrevious studies indicate that the implementation of a prior authorization requirement for coxibs was followed by a sharp decline in their use. There are no studies showing what happens if coxib prior authorization is removed. The objective of this study is to assess the trend in the use of coxibs marketed in Spain, following removal of their respective prior authorization requirements in November 2006 for celecoxib and February 2007 for etoricoxib.MethodsWe calculated the monthly number of defined daily doses per thousand inhabitants per day (DDD/TID) of coxibs dispensed in a health area of Spain from mid-2005 to December 2007. Data were analysed both graphically and by means of a segmented regression model.Results And DiscussionAt the start of the study period, use of coxibs showed no growth. At the date when prior authorization of celecoxib was removed (November 2006), however, DDD/TID of the coxib whose prior authorization had not been removed - namely etoricoxib - remained unchanged, whereas consumption of celecoxib increased significantly (by the end of the study period, celecoxib use displayed a relative increase of 615% in terms of the DDD/TID prescribed before the removal of its prior authorization requirement). Similarly, etoricoxib use remained unchanged until its prior authorization was removed (February 2007), from which time DDD/TID of etoricoxib also underwent a considerable increase (by the end of the study period, etoricoxib use displayed a relative increase of 793% in terms of the DDD/TID prescribed before the removal of its prior authorization). Segmented regression analysis showed a sharp, statistically significant rise and change in slope in both celecoxib and etoricoxib use immediately after removal of their respective prior authorizations.What Is New And ConclusionUse of celecoxib and etoricoxib rose sharply after removal of their respective prior authorizations.© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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