Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31559008›Full record

ArticleClinical and translational allergy2019

High oral corticosteroid exposure and overuse of short-acting beta-2-agonists were associated with insufficient prescribing of controller medication: a nationwide electronic prescribing and dispensing database analysis.

Ana Sá-Sousa, Rute Almeida, Ricardo Vicente, Nilton Nascimento, Henrique Martins, Alberto Freitas, João Almeida Fonseca

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and translational allergy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Methods to assess COPD medications adherence in healthcare databases: a systematic review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Short-acting βNPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2022
    Article
  7. Over-prescription of short-acting βAsthma research and practice · 2022
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. 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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ana Sá-Sousa1CINTESIS-Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-9429-6863
Rute Almeida1CINTESIS-Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Ricardo Vicente2SPMS Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.
Nilton Nascimento2SPMS Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.
Henrique Martins2SPMS Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.
Alberto Freitas1CINTESIS-Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
João Almeida Fonseca1CINTESIS-Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Universidade do Porto · PTMinistry of Health · PT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRecurrent use of oral corticosteroids (OCS) and over-use of short-acting beta-2-agonists (SABA) are factors associated with adverse side effects and asthma-related death. We aim to quantify high OCS exposure, SABA over-use and its association with prescription and adherence to maintenance treatment for respiratory disease, among patients with prescriptions for respiratory disease, from the Portuguese electronic prescription and dispensing database (BDNP).

methodsThis was a 1-year (2016) retrospective population-based analysis of a random sample of adult patients from the BDNP, the nationwide compulsory medication prescription system. We assessed high OCS exposure (dispensing ≥ 4 packages containing 20 doses of 20 mg each of prednisolone-equivalent, ≥ 1600 mg/year) on patients on persistent respiratory treatment (PRT-prescription for > 2 packages of any respiratory maintenance medications). Excessive use of SABA was defined as having a ratio of SABA-to-maintenance treatment > 1 or having SABA over-use (dispensing of > 1 × 200 dose canister/month, of 100 μg of salbutamol-equivalent). Factors associated with high OCS exposure were assessed by multinomial logistic regression.

resultsThe estimated number of patients on PRT was 4786/100,000 patients. OCS was prescribed to more than 1/5 of the patients on PRT and 101/100,000 were exposed to a high-dose (≥ 1600 mg/year). SABA excessive use was found in 144/100,000 patients and SABA over-use in 24/100,000. About 1/6 of SABA over-users were not prescribed any controller medication and 7% of them had a ratio maintenance-to-total ≥ 70% (high prescription of maintenance treatment). Primary adherence (median%) to controller medication was 66.7% for PRT patients, 59.6% for patients exposed to high OCS dose and 75.0% for SABA over-users. High OCS exposure or SABA over-use were not associated with primary adherence. High OCS exposure was associated with a maintenance-to-total medication ratio < 70% (insufficient prescription of maintenance treatment), age > 45 years old and male sex.

conclusionsExposure to high-dose of OCS (101 per 100,000 patients) and SABA over-use (24 per 100,000) were frequent, and were associated with a low maintenance-to-total prescription ratio but not with primary non-adherence. These results suggest there is a need for initiatives to reduce OCS and SABA inappropriate prescribing.

Indexed as

AsthmaInappropriate prescribingMedication adherenceMultivariate analysisPulmonary disease, chronic obstructiveRetrospective studiesRisk factors

Identifiers

PMID31559008
PMCPMC6755705
OpenAlexW2974908353

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.