Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42448616›Full record

ArticlePharmacoepidemiology and drug safety2026

DrugUtilisation: An R Package to Support Drug Utilisation Research Using the OMOP Common Data Model.

Yuchen Guo, Edward Burn, Annika M Jödicke, Núria Mercadé-Besora, Kim Lopez-Güell, Xihang Chen, Mike Du, Xintong Li, Raivo Kolde, Marek Oja and 8 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

18 authors.

Yuchen GuoPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0847-4855
Edward BurnPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Annika M JödickePharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0000-0110
Núria Mercadé-BesoraPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7948-3747
Kim Lopez-GüellPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Xihang ChenPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8112-8959
Mike DuPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9517-8834
Xintong LiPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Raivo KoldeInstitute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
Marek OjaInstitute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3650-8194
Mees MosseveldDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Katia VerhammeDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Julieta PolitiDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Antonella DelmestriPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0388-3403
Wai Yi ManPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7862-4628
Peter RijnbeekDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Daniel Prieto-AlhambraPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3950-6346
Martí CatalàPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3308-9905

Funding

European Medicines Agency
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo develop and describe DrugUtilisation, an open-source R package that facilitates drug utilisation studies using data mapped to the OMOP Common Data Model (CDM).

methodsCore functionalities include creating drug user cohorts, identifying and summarising indications, describing the duration and dose of medication/s and assessing treatment adherence. The package works with packages developed within the DARWIN EU initiative to support study-specific workflows. We show the package's workflow by analysing the use of simvastatin in three European real-world databases.

resultsThis paper outlines the DrugUtilisation package's functions and demonstrates their application with a clinical example of simvastatin use in databases from the United Kingdom, Estonia and the Netherlands. We generated results including cohort counts, indication summaries, measures of dose and duration, as well as publication-ready tables and figures. We implemented comprehensive unit tests and standardised output format, which ensured consistency across databases and minimised coding errors.

conclusionThe development of this software allows for researchers to quickly perform common drug utilisation analyses, while also providing the foundation for additional, bespoke study-specific analyses.

Indexed as

Databases, FactualDrug UtilizationDrug Utilization ReviewSimvastatinSoftwareEstoniaHumansNetherlandsUnited KingdomSimvastatindrug dosedrug exposureobservational studiesOMOP CDMtreatment adherencetreatment discontinuationtreatment pattern

Identifiers

PMID42448616
PMCPMC13368618

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.