Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Sep 2012
Off-label antidepressant use in children and adolescents compared with young adults: extent and level of evidence.
To estimate the degree of, and level of evidence supporting, off-label antidepressant (AD) prescribing for children and adolescents compared with young adults. ⋯ Pediatric off-label AD prescribing occurs frequently without a strong evidence base, highlighting a need to generate additional evidence to ensure safe and effective use.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Sep 2012
Comparative StudyPrescribing quality for older people in Norwegian nursing homes and home nursing services using multidose dispensed drugs.
To examine and compare the quality of drug prescribing for older patients in nursing homes and home nursing services. ⋯ There are significant differences in the quality of drug prescribing in nursing homes compared with home nursing services. Explanations as to why these differences exist need to be further explored.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Sep 2012
High use of tramadol in Germany: an analysis of statutory health insurance data.
Tramadol is a weak opioid according to the World Health Organization pain ladder step II. It is one of the most prescribed analgesic substances in Germany, but tramadol and the step II opioids are very controversially discussed. We analysed patients with filled tramadol prescriptions with special emphasis on high use. ⋯ Despite some limitations, this study shows the prescriptions of tramadol in Germany in an authentic way. It seems that there are some 'challenging' patients that present a treatment dilemma for some prescribers. This might result in a high use of tramadol.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Sep 2012
Indications for antimicrobial prescribing in European nursing homes: results from a point prevalence survey.
In light of the emerging problem with multiresistant microorganisms in nursing homes (NHs), the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption NH subproject was set up to measure and describe antimicrobial use across Europe. The aim of this paper was to investigate the indications for antimicrobial use and hence identify targets for quality improvement. ⋯ The indications for antimicrobial prescribing varied markedly between countries. We identified uroprophylaxis as a possible target for quality improvement.