Intranasal corticosteroid users in The Netherlands: A drug utilization study

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Allergy and Immunology
• Public Health

Background:

• Patient-tailored instructions for intranasal corticosteroid (INC) administration require understanding user characteristics and comedication.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated the prevalence, incidence, and patterns of INC use and concurrent medications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and incidence of INC use.
• To analyze patterns of INC use over time (previous years).
• To identify common comedications used alongside INCs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of INC prescriptions from the Dutch InterAction Database (2015-2019).
• Stratification of prevalence and incidence rates by age and sex.
• Analysis of INC prescription history and concurrent medication use.

Main Results:

• In 2019, 75,048 individuals received 172,563 INC prescriptions, with prevalence and incidence rates of 68.9 and 25.6 per 1000 individuals, respectively.
• INC use spans all age groups, with varied patterns including new, intermittent, and continuous users.
• Common comedications included inhalers (28%), systemic antihistamines (29%), ocular medications (9%), and other corticosteroids (2-16%).

Conclusions:

• Findings provide insights for developing patient-tailored INC instructions to improve adherence and efficacy.
• Understanding comedication patterns can enhance the evaluation of INC administration techniques.
• A more personalized approach to INC therapy may lead to improved treatment outcomes.