• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.238-244
• /
• 2016

Background: Mupirocin, a topical antimicrobial agent has been used for patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and recently mupirocin resistance was issued in some studies. The objective of this study was to analyze prescription patterns of topical mupirocin, to evaluate appropriateness of prescriptions in the ambulatory setting, and to compare frequency of mupirocin usage in South Korea with that in United States. Methods: Topical mupirocin prescription patterns (the number of prescription and a prescription period), and appropriateness of prescription (including a prescription rate over 10 days, a repeat prescription rate within 30 days and a prescription rate within labeled indications) were analyzed using the 2012 Health Insurance and Review and Assessment service-National Patient Sample dataset of South Korea. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey dataset was used to quantify topical mupirocin prescription in United States for comparison. Results: In South Korea, the prescriptions rate for use over 10 days was 3%, the repeat prescription rate within 30 days was 8.87% and the prescription proportion within labeled indications was 33.84%. The most frequent diagnostic code was nonbacterial infection. The prescription rate per 1000 population of topical mupirocin in South Korea was calculated to be 46.07, whereas in United States was calculated to be 13.10. Conclusion: Topical mupirocin has been used frequently and inappropriately, so further studies are required to investigate the rationale behind such prescribing mupirocin patterns.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.579-596
• /
• 2012

The purpose of the study is to examine the use of medication among adults by comparing the pattern of outpatient prescription drug use with the pattern of long term taking lifestyle drug use. Furthermore, the study investigates factors associated with the use of medication, particularity focusing on socioeconomic factors. Korea Health Panel data of 2008 was used to conduct the study analysis. By performing four different logistic regression models, the study noticed different patterns of the medication use between prescription drugs and lifestyle drugs. More specifically, the study showed that adults with lower education level tend to more frequently receive prescriptions while adults with higher education as well as income level tend to more use lifestyle drugs than their counterparts. Furthermore, other control factors such as age and gender were statistically significant for the use of both prescription and lifestyle drugs in different patterns. The study findings expect that reimbursement structure of drugs may be significantly associated with the different patterns and accordingly the accessability of medicine in particularly vulnerable population. Therefore, these policy factors should be considered in future study to more comprehensively understand about the diverse patterns in the medication use.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.79-92
• /
• 2020

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prescription pattern of NSAIDs and GPAs in the arthritis patients over 65 years old to prevent the GI adverse events. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used agents to treat arthritis, can cause gastrointestinal (GI) adverse effects. Recent guidelines recommend that moderate risk patients who have one or two risk factors, should be prescribed either combination of non-selective NSAID (nsNSAIDs) and gastroprotective agent (GPAs) or selective NSAID alone. Methods : Study population was National Patient Sample of 2011. Number of drugs used were 138 for NSAIDs and 21 for GPAs. Chi-square test was used to compare prescribing patterns. Results : The appropriate prescription rate follows the guideline was 11.2%: co-prescription with nsNSAID and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or misoprostol was 1.6% and selective NSAID alone was 9.6%. Inappropriate prescription rates were as follows: co-prescription with nsNSAID and Histamine-2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) or antiacid was 53.8% and nsNSAID alone was 35.0%. The appropriate prescription rate among the types of medical institute was 54.4% in tertiary hospital, 31.2% in secondary hospital, and 6.0% in primary hospital. The appropriate prescription rate among the regions was 19.4%, highest in Seoul and 4.2%, lowest in Jeju. The appropriate prescription rate among the medical departments was as follow: 12.2% in orthopaedic surgery, 11.0% in internal medicine, and 7.7% in other departments. Conclusion : This finding suggests the needs to revise the national medical insurance imbursement policy, provide continuing medical education about the guideline of medical doctors.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.143-148
• /
• 2015

Objective : This study examined benzodiazepine prescription patterns of outpatients visiting the psychiatry department in a single general hospital in Korea. Methods : A retrospective descriptive analysis of benzodiazepine prescriptions was performed on a database from 2014 in a general hospital in Korea. We analyzed the following factors of adult outpatients: demographic factors such as sex and age, amount of benzodiazepine prescribed, treatment duration, and diagnosis based on the ICD-10. Results : In 2014, benzodiazepines were prescribed to 46.4% of the outpatients. Percentage of benzodiazepine prescription increased with age and was highest in the age group 40-59 years. Prescription was more prevalent in women and the prescription percentage increased by treatment duration. Patients with the F4 diagnosis (neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders) were the most highly prescribed group. For all diagnosis groups, prescription was more prevalent in females or similar for both sexes except for patients with F5 diagnosis (behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors), with males being more predominant. Conclusion : Despite the concern regarding the rate of benzodiazepine prescription and administration to geriatric patients, long-term prescription and usage among older patients is still prevalent.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.29-40
• /
• 2019

Objectives: To analyze the prescription frequency of various herbs as either individual or major herbs (in terms of dosage) and their usage patterns in the treatment of different diseases for standardization of traditional Korean medicine. Methods: We analyzed the prescription database of patients at the Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital from the date of establishment of the hospital to February 2013. The complete prescription data were extracted from the electronic medical records of patients, and the prescription frequencies of individual herbs, particularly, of major herbs, were analyzed in terms of gender, age, and international classification of diseases (ICD) code. Results: The prescription frequency of individual herbs based on age and gender showed a similar pattern. Herbal mixtures were also distributed in a similar manner. The use of some herbs differed according to age and gender (Table 1.). The herbs that were used at high frequencies for a given ICD code had similar usage patterns in different categories. However, some major herbs in the "Jun (King)" category were used uniquely for a given ICD code (Table 2.). There was significant difference between male and female on ICD code E and N, but the other ICD codes had small differences. The ratio of herbal medicine by gender showed different usage patterns in each gender. Conclusions: The findings of our study provide fundamental data that reflect the real clinical conditions in South Korea, and therefore, can contribute to the standardization of TKM.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.49-56
• /
• 2013

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patterns of Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs and their interactions with prescription drugs in adults visiting a community pharmacy. Method: The subjects were 151 adults aged over 20 years visiting a community pharmacy in Asan-si from December 16th 2011 to February 1st 2012. We used a survey questionnaire. The survey inquired about the prevalence and the details of any OTC drug use and the characteristics of the study subjects. The drug interaction classification system from Lexicomp's Lexi-interact data fields was used to identify OTC drugs likely to have clinically significant interactions with prescription drugs. Results: The patterns of OTC drug use were related to thirties (from 30 to 40 years old), female gender, higher education, non-smoking, sometimes use of alcohol, and self-perceived normal health status. The most commonly used OTC drug category was antipyretic-analgesics (n=104, 53.3%), and the most commonly used ingredient was acetaminophen (n=67, 64.4%). The biggest motivation for taking OTC drugs was suggestion by pharmacists, reported by 55.6%. After reviewing each patient's prescription drugs and OTC drugs, 14 patients (36.8%) of 38 patients using prescription drugs were taking drug combinations with potential for clinically significant interactions. The concomitant use of OTC drugs with prescription drugs may lead to increased potentially harmful interactions. Conclusion: It is suggested that health-care professionals should be more aware of the potential and possible interactions and take into better account their patients' OTC drug use.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.323-332
• /
• 2015

Background: Antibiotic resistance has been becoming serious challenge to human beings. Overuse of antibiotics, especially, for infants is concerned, but studies are very few for the prescribing pattern of antibiotic use for infants. This study analyzes prescribing patterns of antibiotics in outpatients of preschool children with acute respiratory tract infections in South Korea. Methods: Data are used from 2011 Health Insurance Review & Assessment Services-pediatric patients sample. Inclusion criteria is outpatient children (0 to 5 years) with top five frequent diseases. Prescription rates are analyzed by types of disease, provider, specialty, region, and ages. Binary or multinomial logit models are used to analyze determinants of providers' prescription pattern. Results: The main findings are as follows. First, distributions of prescription rates are shown as L-shape or M-shape depending on the types of disease. Second, the prescription variation is so large among providers, where providers are polarized as a group with low prescription rates and the other group with high prescription rates, though the shapes are shown diversified across types of disease. Third, prescription rates appear to be lower in pediatrics and higher in ENT (ear-nose-throat). Fourth, broad spectrum antibiotics are widely used among children. Finally, the logit analysis shows similar results with descriptive statistics, but partly different results across types of disease. Conclusion: Antibiotics for respiratory tract infections of infants are used excessively with a large variation among providers, and especially broad spectrum antibiotics are used. The prescription guideline for antibiotics should be provided for each specific disease to reduce antibiotic resistance in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
• /
• v.33 no.46
• /
• pp.290.1-290.11
• /
• 2018

Background: The role of antidepressants (ADs) in bipolar disorder is long-standing controversial issue in psychiatry. Many clinicians have used ADs as a treatment for bipolar depression, and the selection of therapeutic agents is very diverse and inconsistent. This study aimed to examine recent AD prescription patterns for patients with bipolar disorder in Korea, using the nationwide, population-based data. Methods: This study utilized the Korean nationwide, whole population-based registry data of the year 2010, 2011, and 2013. All prescription data of the ADs, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers of the sampled patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (n = 2,022 [in 2010]; 2,038 [in 2011]; 2,626 [in 2013]) were analyzed for each year. Results: Annual prescription rate of ADs was 27.3%-33.6% in bipolar disorder, which was gradually increasing over the 3-year period. The combination pattern of ADs and antipsychotic drugs tended to increase over 3 years. The proportion of females and the prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorder were significantly higher in AD user group in all three years. Among individual ADs, escitalopram was prescribed most frequently, and fluoxetine and bupropion were prescribed to the next many patients. The mean duration of bipolar depressive episodes was 135.90-152.53 days, of which ADs were prescribed for 115.60-121.98 days. Conclusion: Our results show prescription rate of ADs in bipolar disorder was maintained at substantial level and increased in recent 3 years. More empirical data and evidence are needed to establish practical treatment consensuses.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.59 no.3
• /
• pp.85-91
• /
• 2015

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has reduced AIDS-related morbidity and mortality; however, it has been associated with metabolic abnormalities including dyslipidemia and dysglycemia depending on the regimens used. The aims of this study were to analyze the prescription patterns of antiretroviral agents and to examine the prevalence of lipid abnormalities among the prescriptions of HAART. The electronic medical records (EMR) of HIV patients were retrospectively reviewed from January 2007 to September 2012 based on our inclusion criteria. The patients who had taken HAART for at least 3 months were included in this study. The lipid profiles of patients on antiretrovirals (ARTs) were collected from his or her laboratory data, and dyslipidemia was defined as total cholesterol (TC) ${\geq}240mg/dL$ and triglycerides (TG) >200 mg/dL. Eighty-four prescriptions were discovered during the study period. Twenty-three prescriptions were the combination of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). Fifty-three prescriptions were the combination of two NRTIs and one protease inhibitor (PI) and thirty-nine prescriptions of them included a PI booster. Eight prescriptions were the combination of two NRTIs and one integrase inhibitor. The Incidence of hypertriglyceridemia among the patients receiving HAART was totally about 41.7% (2NRTIs+PI regimen vs. 2NRTIs+NNRTI regimen vs. 2 NRTIs+integrase inhibitor regimen, 52% vs. 12.5% vs. 25%), but there was no incidence of hypercholesterolemia. This study investigated that the prescription medication patterns and dyslipidemia associated with lipid abnormalities among HIV patients receiving HAART. The types of HAART prescription regimens had an effect on the occurrence of hypertriglycemia. Further studies related to metabolic abnormalities and adverse effects of HIV patients on ARTs are needed in the near future.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to understand the nationwide patterns of antibiotic prescription after tooth extraction in adult patients. Materials and Methods: This study analyzed dental records from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) database on 503,725 tooth extractions performed in adults (≥19 years) during 2011-2015. Patient sex, age, household income, systemic disease (diabetes mellitus and hypertension), type of dental institution, region of dental institution, year of prescription, and type of tooth extraction procedure were considered. The antibiotic prescription rate and broad-spectrum antibiotic prescription frequency were analyzed using chi-squared tests. Factors affecting the prescription of broad-spectrum antibiotics were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The rate of antibiotic prescription after tooth extraction was 81.85%. Penicillin was most commonly prescribed (45.25%), followed by penicillin with beta-lactamase inhibitors (18.76%), metronidazole (12.29%), and second- to fourth-generation cephalosporins (11.52%). The proportion of broad-spectrum antibiotics used among all prescribed antibiotics was 45.88%. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that the rate of antibiotic prescription after tooth extraction is higher in Korea than in other countries. Furthermore, broad-spectrum antibiotics are used more frequently, which may indicate unnecessary drug prescription, an important contributor to antibiotic resistance.