Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor use among pregnant and reproductive-age women in the United States.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence and potential indications of PDE5 inhibitor use among pregnant and reproductive-age women in the United States. METHODS: We identified women 15 to 50 years with a livebirth from January 2001 through March 2018 in Sentinel Database. We assessed the prevalence of PDE5 inhibitor use prior to and during pregnancy by trimester, identified potential on- and off-label indications using predefined diagnosis codes recorded within 90 days before the estimated last menstrual period through delivery. Separately, we used data from IQVIA's National Prescription Audit and Total Patient Tracker to estimate the dispensed prescriptions for PDE5 inhibitors and the number of patients with PDE5 inhibitor prescriptions. RESULTS: We identified approximately 3.3 million pregnancies during 2001 to 2018, 96 of which had PDE5 inhibitor use during pregnancy. Prevalence of PDE5 inhibitor use was 2.61, 0.62, and 0.62 per 100, 000 live-born pregnancies during the first, second, or third trimesters, respectively. Among women exposed to a PDE5 inhibitor from 90 days before conception to the end of pregnancy, 25.0%, 31.1%, and 15.5% had a diagnosis code for fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. In IQVIA data, an estimated 223, 000 prescriptions from July 2015 through June 2018 and 58, 000 women received prescriptions for PDE5 inhibitors in 2017, of whom approximately 15, 000 (26%) were aged 15 to 50 years. CONCLUSION: We found a low prevalence of PDE5 inhibitor use in pregnant and reproductive-age women. Given the very low prevalence of use and the inconsistency of neonatal mortality data across STRIDER centers, the risk to public health is low at present.

Self-reported Medication Adherence and Adverse Patient Safety Events in CKD.

BACKGROUND: Promoting medication adherence is a recognized challenge for prescribers. In this study, we examine whether lower medication adherence is associated with adverse safety events in individuals with decreased estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional baseline analysis of prospective cohort. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Baseline analysis of the Safe Kidney Care (SKC) Cohort Study, a prospective study of individuals with eGFRs<60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) intended to assess the incidence of disease-specific safety events. Kidney transplant recipients were excluded. PREDICTOR: Self-reported medication adherence based on responses to 3 questions ascertaining degree of medication regimen adherence. OUTCOMES: Adverse safety events were self-reported at baseline (class I events), such as hypoglycemia or fall thought to be related to a medication, or detected incidentally during the baseline visit (class II events), for example, hypotension or hyperkalemia. Potential drug-related problems (DRPs) were determined by analyzing participants' medications with respect to dosing guidelines based on their screening eGFRs at the time of medication reporting. MEASUREMENTS: Relationship between medication adherence and disease-specific patient safety events. RESULTS: Of 293 SKC participants, 154 (53%) were classified as having lower medication adherence. After multivariable adjustment, lower medication adherence was significantly associated with a class I or II safety event (prevalence ratio [PR], 1.21; 95% CI, 1.04-1.41) and potential DRPs (PR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.02-1.63). Lower medication adherence was also significantly associated with multiple (≥2) class I events (PR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.18-2.49), multiple class I or II events (PR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.04-1.76), and multiple potential DRPs (PR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.08-2.69) compared with those with higher medication adherence. LIMITATIONS: Use of self-reported medication adherence rather than pharmacy records. Clinical relevance of detected safety events is unclear. CONCLUSIONS: Lower medication adherence is associated with adverse safety events in individuals with eGFRs<60 mL/min/1.73 m(2).

Utilization of hydroxyprogesterone caproate among pregnancies with live birth deliveries in the sentinel distributed database.

BACKGROUND: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Makena® (hydroxyprogesterone caproate [HPC] injection) in February 2011 for reducing the risk of preterm birth (PTB) in women with a singleton pregnancy who had a history of singleton spontaneous PTB (sPTB). Makena was approved under accelerated approval and required a postmarketing study to verify its clinical benefits. However, the postmarketing trial (PROLONG) failed to verify Makena's clinical benefit to neonates and substantiate its effect on reducing the risk of recurrent PTB. This study examined the utilization of HPC, along with another progestogen (vaginal progesterone) used to reduce the risk of sPTB during pregnancy, to inform the landscape of HPC use in the United States. METHODS: We included pregnant women aged 10-54 years with a live birth delivery from 1 January, 2008 to 31 December, 2018 in the Sentinel Distributed Database (SDD). We examined the prevalence of injectable HPC (Makena and its generics), compounded HPC, and vaginal progesterone use during the second and third trimesters during the study period. We also assessed the proportion of these HPC-exposed pregnancies with obstetrical conditions of interest as potential reasons for use: (1) history of preterm delivery; (2) cervical shortening in the current pregnancy; and (3) preterm labor in the current pregnancy. RESULTS: We identified a total of 3,445,739 live-birth pregnancies (among 2.9 million women) between 2008 and 2018 in the SDD. Of these pregnancies, 6.5 per 1,000 pregnancies used injectable HPC, 2.3 per 1,000 pregnancies used compounded HPC, and 1.5 per 1,000 pregnancies used vaginal progesterone during the second and/or third trimesters. The yearly uptakeof pregnancies with injectable HPC use increased during the study period from 2.1 per 1,000 pregnancies in 2012 to 12.6 per 1,000 pregnancies in 2018; use of compounded HPC decreased from 3.3 per 1,000 pregnancies to 0.25 per 1,000 pregnancies over the same period. Of 16,524 pregnancies with injectable HPC use, 12,054 (73%) had at least one related obstetrical condition, including 6,439 (39%) with a recorded history of preterm delivery. In addition, 4,665 (28%) had a PTB recorded as the outcome for the current pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: We found modest use of HPC during the second and/or third trimesters among all live-birth pregnancies in SDD. The majority of pregnancies with injectable HPC use had at least one of three obstetrical indications of interest recorded before or during the pregnancy.

Patterns of NSAIDs Use and Their Association with Other Analgesic Use in CKD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Avoiding nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is important for safe CKD care. This study examined nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use patterns and their association with other analgesic use in CKD. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study is an observational cohort study that enrolled 3939 adults ages 21-74 years old with CKD between 2003 and 2008 using age-based eGFR inclusion criteria. Annual visits between June of 2003 and December of 2011 were organized into 15,917 visit-pairs (with an antecedent and subsequent visit) for 3872 participants with medication information. Demographics, kidney function, and clinical factors were ascertained along with report of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug or other analgesic use in the prior 30 days. RESULTS: In our study, 24% of participants reported nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use at baseline or at least one follow-up study visit. Having a 10 ml/min per 1.73 m2 higher eGFR level at an antecedent visit was associated with higher odds of starting nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at a subsequent visit (odds ratio, 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.34 to 1.56). Seeing a nephrologist at the antecedent visit was associated with lower odds of starting or staying on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at a subsequent visit (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.56 to 0.87 and odds ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.46 to 0.81, respectively). Starting and stopping nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were both associated with higher odds of increasing the number of other analgesics (odds ratio, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.25 to 1.85 and odds ratio, 1.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.39 to 2.28, respectively) and higher odds of increasing the number of opioid analgesics specifically (odds ratio, 1.92; 95% confidence interval, 1.48 to 2.48 and odds ratio, 1.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 2.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use is common among patients with CKD but less so among those with worse kidney function or those who see a nephrologist. Initiation or discontinuation of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is often associated with supplementation with or replacement by, respectively, other analgesics, including opioids, which introduces possible drug-related problems when taking these alternative analgesics.