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Trends of outpatient prescription drug utilization in US children, 2002-2010

Grace Chai1, Laura Governale, Ann W McMahon

  • 1Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Division of Epidemiology II, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. grace.chai@fda.hhs.gov

Pediatrics
|June 20, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric prescription drug use declined overall between 2002 and 2010, with fewer antibiotics prescribed but more medications for asthma and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pharmacology
  • Public health
  • Pharmacoepidemiology

Background:

  • Outpatient prescription drug utilization in children is a significant aspect of pediatric healthcare.
  • Understanding trends in pediatric prescribing is crucial for optimizing therapeutic outcomes and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe trends in outpatient prescription drug utilization among US children from 2002 to 2010.
  • To analyze changes in major pediatric therapeutic areas during this period.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized large prescription databases (IMS Vector One: National and Total Patient Tracker).
  • Examined national drug utilization patterns for the US pediatric population (ages 0-17 years) between 2002 and 2010.

Main Results:

  • Total pediatric prescriptions decreased by 7% from 2002 to 2010, contrasting with a 22% increase in adults.
  • Significant shifts observed: decreases in antibiotics (-14%), allergies (-61%), pain (-14%), and cough/cold (-42%) prescriptions.
  • Increases noted in asthma (14%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (46%), and contraceptive (93%) prescriptions.
  • Amoxicillin was most frequent in infants and young children; methylphenidate led in adolescents.
  • Off-label use of lansoprazole was identified, with ~358,000 prescriptions for infants under 1 year old in 2010.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric outpatient drug utilization patterns changed significantly between 2002 and 2010.
  • Observed decrease in antibiotic use and increase in ADHD medication use warrant further investigation.
  • This overview provides a foundation for more detailed analyses of pediatric pharmacotherapy.
Abstract

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