Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21585223›Full record

ArticleDrug safety2011

Prescription patterns in asthma patients initiating salmeterol in UK general practice: a retrospective cohort study using the General Practice Research Database (GPRD).

Rachael L DiSantostefano, Kourtney J Davis

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Drug safety, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Systematic Literature Review of Systemic Corticosteroid Use for Asthma Management.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2020
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Rachael L DiSantostefanoGlaxoSmithKline, Worldwide Epidemiology, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-3398, USA. Rachael.L.DiSantostefano@gsk.com
Kourtney J Davis
Research Triangle Park Foundation · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAn association between salmeterol, a long-acting β(2)-agonist (LABA), use and rare serious asthma events or asthma mortality was observed in two large clinical trials. This has resulted in heightened scrutiny of LABAs and comprehensive reviews by regulatory agencies.

objectiveThe aim of this retrospective observational cohort study was to better characterize salmeterol medication use patterns in the UK. We describe asthma prescription patterns in a cohort of patients (n =17,745) in the General Practice Research Database who initiated treatment with salmeterol-containing prescriptions between 2003 and 2006, including salmeterol and salmeterol/fluticasone propionate in a single device.

methodsPrescriptions patterns by medication class, including concurrent prescription of salmeterol with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), were described using 6-month intervals in the 1-year period before and after the salmeterol-containing index prescription.

resultsIn the 0- to 6-month and 7- to 12-month periods prior to initiation of the salmeterol-containing prescription, the cohort experienced worsening of asthma, measured by an increase in the proportion of patients with prescriptions for short-acting β-agonists [SABA] (73-89%), ICS (70-81%) and systemic corticosteroids (14-28%). Nearly all patients prescribed salmeterol were concurrently prescribed ICS (≥95% within 90 days). In the 12 months following initiation of the salmeterol-containing prescription, a decrease in asthma prescriptions was observed. DISCUSSION: These results support the appropriate prescribing of salmeterol-containing medications, as per recommendations in asthma treatment guidelines in the UK.

conclusionSalmeterol was consistently prescribed as an add-on asthma-controller with an ICS for most patients, and was associated with improvements in asthma control, as indicated by decreases in SABA and systemic corticosteroid prescriptions following salmeterol introduction.

Indexed as

Administration, InhalationAdolescentAdrenal Cortex HormonesAdrenergic beta-2 Receptor AgonistsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAlbuterolAndrostadienesAnti-Inflammatory AgentsAsthmaChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleAdrenal Cortex HormonesAdrenergic beta-2 Receptor AgonistsAlbuterolAndrostadienesAnti-Inflammatory AgentsFluticasoneSalmeterol Xinafoate

Identifiers

PMID21585223
OpenAlexW62410033

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.