Use of topical ocular antibiotics in young children: a Scandinavian drug utilization study

Jasmine Andersson; Mikael Hofsli; Uffe Lomholt Gade; Steffen Heegaard; Anton Pottegård

doi:10.1111/aos.13813

Use of topical ocular antibiotics in young children: a Scandinavian drug utilization study

Jasmine Andersson, Mikael Hofsli, Uffe Lomholt Gade, Steffen Heegaard, Anton Pottegård

Department of Clinical Medicine

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

PURPOSE: Acute infectious conjunctivitis is a common disease. While usually self-limiting, children often receive treatment to be accepted back into nursery, day care or school. We aimed to describe trends in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics in young children aged 0-4 years in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

METHODS: Using individual-level data from the Danish National Prescription Registry (2000-2015), we provided detailed descriptions of treatment patterns at the individual level, stratified by age (0-1 years, 2-4 years) and antibiotic substance. Aggregate-level data for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish children (0-4 years) were obtained from publicly available data sources (2000-2016).

RESULTS: We identified 107 581 Danish children aged 0-4 years receiving 271 980 treatment episodes. The incidence rate was relatively stable between 2000 and 2010 (on average, 637 and 283/1000 person-years for 0- to 1- and 2- to 4-year-olds, respectively), after which it dropped by 37% until 2015. In the aggregated data, a markedly higher use was seen in Denmark (211/1000 children in 2016) compared with Sweden (42) and Norway (151). The decrease from 2010 onwards was observed in all three countries. Chloramphenicol and fusidic acid were the most commonly used topical ocular antibiotics across Scandinavia. Tobramycin was rarely used in Norway and Sweden (≤1/1000 children in 2016) compared with Denmark (24/1000 children).

CONCLUSION: Considerable variation is seen in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics among children in Scandinavia, with Denmark having the highest use. Across the Scandinavian countries, however, a decline was noted from 2010 onwards.

Original language	English
Journal	Acta Ophthalmologica
Volume	96
Issue number	8
Pages (from-to)	789-794
Number of pages	6
ISSN	1755-375X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.13813
Publication status	Published - Dec 2018

Keywords

Acute Disease
Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage
Child, Preschool
Conjunctivitis/drug therapy
Denmark/epidemiology
Drug Utilization/trends
Eye Infections, Bacterial/drug therapy
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health Policy
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Morbidity/trends
Norway/epidemiology
Ophthalmic Solutions/administration & dosage
Registries
Retrospective Studies
Sweden/epidemiology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/aos.13813

Cite this

@article{711407d386e04cee8243d1b5665b915f,

title = "Use of topical ocular antibiotics in young children: a Scandinavian drug utilization study",

abstract = "PURPOSE: Acute infectious conjunctivitis is a common disease. While usually self-limiting, children often receive treatment to be accepted back into nursery, day care or school. We aimed to describe trends in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics in young children aged 0-4 years in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.METHODS: Using individual-level data from the Danish National Prescription Registry (2000-2015), we provided detailed descriptions of treatment patterns at the individual level, stratified by age (0-1 years, 2-4 years) and antibiotic substance. Aggregate-level data for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish children (0-4 years) were obtained from publicly available data sources (2000-2016).RESULTS: We identified 107 581 Danish children aged 0-4 years receiving 271 980 treatment episodes. The incidence rate was relatively stable between 2000 and 2010 (on average, 637 and 283/1000 person-years for 0- to 1- and 2- to 4-year-olds, respectively), after which it dropped by 37% until 2015. In the aggregated data, a markedly higher use was seen in Denmark (211/1000 children in 2016) compared with Sweden (42) and Norway (151). The decrease from 2010 onwards was observed in all three countries. Chloramphenicol and fusidic acid were the most commonly used topical ocular antibiotics across Scandinavia. Tobramycin was rarely used in Norway and Sweden (≤1/1000 children in 2016) compared with Denmark (24/1000 children).CONCLUSION: Considerable variation is seen in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics among children in Scandinavia, with Denmark having the highest use. Across the Scandinavian countries, however, a decline was noted from 2010 onwards.",

keywords = "Acute Disease, Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage, Child, Preschool, Conjunctivitis/drug therapy, Denmark/epidemiology, Drug Utilization/trends, Eye Infections, Bacterial/drug therapy, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Policy, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Morbidity/trends, Norway/epidemiology, Ophthalmic Solutions/administration & dosage, Registries, Retrospective Studies, Sweden/epidemiology",

author = "Jasmine Andersson and Mikael Hofsli and Gade, {Uffe Lomholt} and Steffen Heegaard and Anton Potteg{\aa}rd",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2018 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2018",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1111/aos.13813",

language = "English",

volume = "96",

pages = "789--794",

journal = "Acta Ophthalmologica",

issn = "1755-375X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "8",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Use of topical ocular antibiotics in young children

T2 - a Scandinavian drug utilization study

AU - Andersson, Jasmine

AU - Hofsli, Mikael

AU - Gade, Uffe Lomholt

AU - Heegaard, Steffen

AU - Pottegård, Anton

PY - 2018/12

Y1 - 2018/12

N2 - PURPOSE: Acute infectious conjunctivitis is a common disease. While usually self-limiting, children often receive treatment to be accepted back into nursery, day care or school. We aimed to describe trends in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics in young children aged 0-4 years in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.METHODS: Using individual-level data from the Danish National Prescription Registry (2000-2015), we provided detailed descriptions of treatment patterns at the individual level, stratified by age (0-1 years, 2-4 years) and antibiotic substance. Aggregate-level data for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish children (0-4 years) were obtained from publicly available data sources (2000-2016).RESULTS: We identified 107 581 Danish children aged 0-4 years receiving 271 980 treatment episodes. The incidence rate was relatively stable between 2000 and 2010 (on average, 637 and 283/1000 person-years for 0- to 1- and 2- to 4-year-olds, respectively), after which it dropped by 37% until 2015. In the aggregated data, a markedly higher use was seen in Denmark (211/1000 children in 2016) compared with Sweden (42) and Norway (151). The decrease from 2010 onwards was observed in all three countries. Chloramphenicol and fusidic acid were the most commonly used topical ocular antibiotics across Scandinavia. Tobramycin was rarely used in Norway and Sweden (≤1/1000 children in 2016) compared with Denmark (24/1000 children).CONCLUSION: Considerable variation is seen in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics among children in Scandinavia, with Denmark having the highest use. Across the Scandinavian countries, however, a decline was noted from 2010 onwards.

AB - PURPOSE: Acute infectious conjunctivitis is a common disease. While usually self-limiting, children often receive treatment to be accepted back into nursery, day care or school. We aimed to describe trends in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics in young children aged 0-4 years in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.METHODS: Using individual-level data from the Danish National Prescription Registry (2000-2015), we provided detailed descriptions of treatment patterns at the individual level, stratified by age (0-1 years, 2-4 years) and antibiotic substance. Aggregate-level data for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish children (0-4 years) were obtained from publicly available data sources (2000-2016).RESULTS: We identified 107 581 Danish children aged 0-4 years receiving 271 980 treatment episodes. The incidence rate was relatively stable between 2000 and 2010 (on average, 637 and 283/1000 person-years for 0- to 1- and 2- to 4-year-olds, respectively), after which it dropped by 37% until 2015. In the aggregated data, a markedly higher use was seen in Denmark (211/1000 children in 2016) compared with Sweden (42) and Norway (151). The decrease from 2010 onwards was observed in all three countries. Chloramphenicol and fusidic acid were the most commonly used topical ocular antibiotics across Scandinavia. Tobramycin was rarely used in Norway and Sweden (≤1/1000 children in 2016) compared with Denmark (24/1000 children).CONCLUSION: Considerable variation is seen in the utilization of topical ocular antibiotics among children in Scandinavia, with Denmark having the highest use. Across the Scandinavian countries, however, a decline was noted from 2010 onwards.

KW - Acute Disease

KW - Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage

KW - Child, Preschool

KW - Conjunctivitis/drug therapy

KW - Denmark/epidemiology

KW - Drug Utilization/trends

KW - Eye Infections, Bacterial/drug therapy

KW - Female

KW - Follow-Up Studies

KW - Health Policy

KW - Humans

KW - Infant

KW - Infant, Newborn

KW - Male

KW - Morbidity/trends

KW - Norway/epidemiology

KW - Ophthalmic Solutions/administration & dosage

KW - Registries

KW - Retrospective Studies

KW - Sweden/epidemiology

U2 - 10.1111/aos.13813

DO - 10.1111/aos.13813

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29885649

SN - 1755-375X

VL - 96

SP - 789

EP - 794

JO - Acta Ophthalmologica

JF - Acta Ophthalmologica

IS - 8

ER -

Use of topical ocular antibiotics in young children: a Scandinavian drug utilization study

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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