anti-asthma medication prescribing to children in the lombardy region of italy chronic versus new users平喘的药物处方在意大利的伦巴第地区儿童慢性和新用户.pdfVIP

Bianchi et al. BMC Pulmonary Medicine 2011, 11:48 /1471-2466/11/48 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Anti-asthma medication prescribing to children in the Lombardy Region of Italy: chronic versus new users 1* 1 1 2 2 2 Marina Bianchi , Antonio Clavenna , Marco Sequi, , Angela Bortolotti , Ida Fortino , Luca Merlino and Maurizio Bonati1 Abstract Background: Although anti-asthma medications are amongst those most frequently under or over prescribed it is generally accepted that prescriptions for such agents can be used as a proxy for disease prevalence. The aims of this study were to estimate prevalence and incidence of childhood asthma in a representative Italian area by analysing three years of anti-asthmatic prescriptions and hospitalizations of subjects with chronic or first time treatment, and to underline appropriateness of therapeutic choices. Methods: The analysis involved prescriptions given to 6-17 year olds between 2003 and 2005 in Italy’s Lombardy Region. The youths were classified as potential asthmatics, based on the different degree of drug utilization: occasional, low or high users, and grouped as ‘new onset’ or ‘chronic’ cases based on the duration of therapy dispensed. The analysis of prescriptions and hospitalization rate of these groups provided an estimate of the 2005 asthma prevalence and incidence and allowed an estimation of the level of appropriateness of treatments. Results: During 2005, the estimated incidence of potential asthmatics was 0.8% and the estimated prevalence was 3.5%. When viewed retrospectively for two years, records showed that 47% of potential asthmatics received prescriptions also during 2004 and 30% also during 2003. During the three years consider