Methylphenidate and atomoxetine prescribing trends in children in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, 2005–2013
Health SA Gesondheid
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Methylphenidate and atomoxetine prescribing trends in children in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, 2005–2013 | |
| Creator | Joubert, Liezl Burger, Johanita R. Truter, Ilse Lubbe, Martie S. Cockeran, Marike | |
| Description | Background: There is paucity of data on methylphenidate and atomoxetine prescribing patterns in South African children. Aim: To describe the prescribing trends of these agents in children residing in the Western Cape Province. Setting: South African private health sector. Methods: Longitudinal drug utilisation study on medicine claims data from 2005–2013, focussing on the number of patients and prescriptions per patient. Results: The total number of patients increased by 29.5% from 2005 to 2013. The majority were boys (male:female ratio, 3.5:1), and between the ages of 6 and ≤12 years in 2005 and 12 and ≤18 years in 2013. More than 75% of patients received methylphenidate or atomoxetine in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan municipality. Prescriptions for methylphenidate and atomoxetine increased by 45.5% overall from 2005 to 2013 (p 0.001), with that for methylphenidate and atomoxetine increasing by 36.0% and 314.5%, respectively. The average number of annual methylphenidate prescriptions per patient increased from 3.96 ± 2.92 (95% CI, 3.69–4.23) in 2005 to 4.38 ± 2.85 (95% CI, 4.14–4.61) in 2013 (Cohen’s d = 0.14) and for atomoxetine from 2.58 ± 1.86 (95% CI, 1.80–3.37) in 2005 to 4.85 ± 3.66 (95% CI, 3.84–5.86) in 2013 (Cohen’s d = 0.62). Conclusion: Although the total number of patients and prescribing of methylphenidate and atomoxetine increased significantly from 2005 to 2013, a slight downward trend was observed in the mean number of prescriptions per patient per year from 2008 onwards. These prescribing patterns warrant further research. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS Publishing | |
| Date | 2018-07-31 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/hsag.v23i0.1084 | |
| Source | Health SA Gesondheid; Vol 23 (2018); 7 pages 2071-9736 1025-9848 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1084/html
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1084/epub
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1084/xml
https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1084/pdf
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
