RESUMEN
AIM: This study was undertaken to increase understanding of the utilization of a newly introduced statin through evaluation of characteristics of 'real-life' patients in a pharmacoepidemiology program in the USA, the Netherlands, the UK and Canada. METHODS: This was an observational analysis of prospectively collected data from primary care patients classified as new users of rosuvastatin or any other statin. New users (naïve or switched initiators) of rosuvastatin were compared with initiators of other statins, as identified from automated healthcare databases in the first 1 to 2 years of rosuvastatin availability. Demographics, statin doses, previous statin use and other lipid-lowering therapies, and relevant comorbidities were recorded. The main outcome measure was proportion of naïve and non-naïve statin users in patients prescribed rosuvastatin or 'other statins'. RESULTS: Among 346.547 new statin users identified in the cohorts, 46.838 (13.5%) were new users of rosuvastatin and most (84.1%) were statin-naïve. Patients receiving rosuvastatin were more likely to have been previously treated with another statin or non-statin lipid-lowering therapy and tended to be younger, compared with first users of other statins. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that rosuvastatin is preferentially prescribed to patients who have not responded satisfactorily to established treatment.
Asunto(s)
Fluorobencenos/uso terapéutico , Inhibidores de Hidroximetilglutaril-CoA Reductasas/uso terapéutico , Isquemia Miocárdica/tratamiento farmacológico , Pirimidinas/uso terapéutico , Sulfonamidas/uso terapéutico , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Canadá , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Sistemas de Registros Médicos Computarizados , Persona de Mediana Edad , Países Bajos , Farmacoepidemiología , Estudios Prospectivos , Ensayos Clínicos Controlados Aleatorios como Asunto , Rosuvastatina Cálcica , Resultado del Tratamiento , Reino Unido , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
As access to the Internet becomes increasingly available, research applications in medicine will increase. This paper describes the use of the Internet, and, more specifically, the World Wide Web (WWW), as a channel of communication between EDs throughout the world and investigators who are interested in facilitating the collection of data from multiple sites. Data entered into user-friendly electronic surveys can be transmitted over the Internet to a database located at the site of the study, rendering geographic separation less of a barrier to the conduction of multisite studies. The electronic format of the data can enable real-time statistical processing while data are stored using existing database technologies. In theory, automated processing of variables within such a database enables early identification of data trends. Methods of ensuring validity, security, and compliance are discussed.