Title: Prescription of asthma medications in preschool children across Norwegian counties
Abstract: <b>Introduction:</b> The prescription of asthma medication for preschool children differs substantially between European countries. Norway has a high prescription rate of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for this age group (1). <b>Aim:</b> To study if the prescription of different groups of asthma medication for preschool children differs between Norwegian counties. <b>Methods:</b> Data on dispensed asthma medication in children aged 0-4 years in 2013 were retrieved from the nationwide Norwegian Prescription Database. Medications were grouped as: <sup>1)</sup> Short acting β2-agonists (SABA) only <sup>2)</sup> Leukotriene antagonists (LTRA) with/without SABA or long acting β2-agonists (LABA) <sup>3)</sup> ICS with/without SABA, <sup>4)</sup> ICS and LTRA with/without SABA, <sup>5)</sup> ICS and LABA with/without SABA or LTRA <b>Results:</b> The prescription of all groups of asthma medication differed between the counties; range sum of groups 62 -140 per 1 000 children (p<0.001). Prescriptions with ICS and SABA were most common. Prescriptions with LABA were mostly found in the counties with an overall high prescription rate. <b>Conclusion:</b> The results implicate that there is a need for a better implementation of guidelines for the treatment of lower airway symptoms in young children. <b>Reference:</b> 1. Oymar K, Mikalsen IB, Furu K, Nystad W, Karlstad O. Prescription patterns of inhaled corticosteroids for preschool children - A Norwegian register study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2015;26:655-61.
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-09-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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