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Clinical symptoms and 'off-label' prescribing in children with asthma

Colin McCowan1, Gaylor Hoskins, Ron G Neville

  • 1Tayside Centre for General Practice, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. c.mccowan@chs.dundee.ac.uk

The British Journal of General Practice : the Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
|March 16, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Off-label asthma medication prescriptions in UK children are linked to poorer asthma control. Children on these prescriptions reported more symptoms and used more rescue inhalers.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Pharmacovigilance
  • General Practice Research

Background:

  • Asthma management in children requires careful consideration of medication appropriateness.
  • Off-label prescribing, using medications outside their approved indications, is a common practice in pediatric care.
  • Understanding the implications of off-label asthma medication use is crucial for optimizing treatment outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of off-label anti-asthma prescriptions in children.
  • To investigate the association between off-label prescribing and asthma control indicators in pediatric patients.
  • To analyze the relationship between off-label medication use and symptom burden in children with asthma.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a UK-wide database of structured asthma review consultations.
  • Analyzed data from 1050 children aged 16 years or under who received off-label prescriptions.
  • Compared symptom reporting and short-acting beta(2)-agonist usage between children with and without off-label prescriptions.

Main Results:

  • 6.1% of children studied were issued with an off-label anti-asthma prescription.
  • Children receiving off-label prescriptions reported significantly more nighttime, daytime, and activity-related asthma symptoms.
  • These children also demonstrated increased use of short-acting beta(2)-agonist medication compared to their peers.

Conclusions:

  • Off-label prescribing for pediatric asthma in UK primary care is associated with diminished asthma control.
  • The findings highlight a need for closer monitoring and potential guideline adjustments for off-label asthma medication use in children.
  • Further research may explore the specific reasons for off-label prescribing and its long-term impact on pediatric asthma management.

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