Antipsychotic prescribing in GMS paediatric and young adult population in Ireland 2005-2015: repeated cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the rates of antipsychotic prescribing in the Irish paediatric and young adult population enrolled in the Irish General Medical Services Scheme pharmacy claims database from the Health Service Executive Primary Care Reimbursement Services database, with a focus on age and sex differences. To examine concomitant prescribing of certain other related medicines in this population. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Irish General Medical Services (GMS) scheme pharmacy claims database from the Health Service Executive (HSE) - Primary Care Reimbursement Services (PCRS). Participants included children aged <16 years and youth aged 16-24 years availing of medicines under the HSE-PCRS GMS scheme between January 2005 and December 2015. Outcome measures included prescribing rates of antipsychotics from 2005 to 2015, differences in prescribing rates between different ages and sexes, and percentage of concomitant prescriptions for antidepressants, psychostimulants, anxiolytics and hypnosedatives. RESULTS: Overall the trend in prescribing rates of antipsychotic medications was stable at 3.94/1000 in 2005 compared with 3.97/1000 in 2015 for children <16 years, and 48.37/1000 eligible population in 2005 compared to 39.64/1000 in 2015 for those aged 16-24. There was a significant decrease in prescribing rates for males in the 16-24 age group. CONCLUSIONS: While rates of antipsychotic prescribing have decreased or remained stable over the timeframe of the study, we did find a significant proportion of this population were prescribed antipsychotics. This study also shows that co-prescribing of antidepressants increased and highlights the need for guidelines for antipsychotic prescribing in children and youth in terms of clinical indication, monitoring, co-prescribing and treatment duration.

Impact of safety warnings on domperidone prescribing in Ireland.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the impact of the 2014 safety warnings on use of domperidone, on subsequent prescribing patterns in Ireland. METHODS: The Irish HSE-PCRS pharmacy claims database was used to identify the study cohort (aged 18+), prescribed domperidone from Jan 2014 to Oct 2015. Dosage was available for each claim; concomitant prescription with the following drug classes was identified and calculated as a percentage of the total number of claims: anti-arrhythmics, macrolide antimicrobials and the selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) citalopram and escitalopram. Segmented regression analysis was used to examine the changes in prescribing before and after the issue of safety warnings in May 2014. RESULTS: A total of 397,572 claims for domperidone were identified from Jan 2014 to Oct 2015. Overall, there was a significant decline in numbers receiving domperidone during the study period (from 22,226 to 15,691 claims, p = 0.012), with no significant change over time. In addition, no significant change in co-prescribed SSRIs or anti-arrhythmic agents was observed over time; co-prescribed macrolide antimicrobials significantly increased after the safety advisory compared to trends before (p = 0.031). In those aged 60+ years, 10% of claims (n = 1332) were for doses >30 mg/day at the start of the study with no significant change in dose after the May advisory. CONCLUSIONS: Safety warnings concerning domperidone appeared to have had little effect on prescribing patterns in Ireland. Of concern is the continuing co-prescription with drugs known to increase the risk of QT prolongation, in all ages, including the 60+ year age group.