Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
9th European Congress of Pharmacology, Athens, Yunanistan, 23 - 26 Haziran 2024, ss.86
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions have resulted in out-ofroutine practices [1]. These extraordinary circumstances, in addition to the potential changes in the prevalence of mental health disorders, might have been reflected in chronic drug consumption levels. We aimed to evaluate the alterations in utilization of antipsychotics throughout the periods determined by COVID-19 restrictions. Methods: We obtained nationwide outpatient drug sales data spanning from March 2018 to December 2022, along with the nationwide projection data of prescribing from IQVIA Turkey. Among six different pharmacotherapy main groups of interest of the comprehensive study, antipsychotic utilization was evaluated in this analysis. We examined the average monthly antipsychotic utilization and costs, as well as the quarterly prescribed antipsychotic levels in three periods: “before restriction” (BfR, 01.03.2018-31.03.2020), “during restriction” (DuR, 01.04.2020-31.03.2022), and “after restriction” (AfR, 01.04.2022-31.12.2022). We assessed the utilization with the “defined daily dose/1000 inhabitants” (DID) metric. Results: Antipsychotic consumption increased from 8.4±0.6 DID in BfR to 9.9±1.6 DID in DuR (p<0.001) and reached 10.2±0.9 DID in AfR (p<0.001 vs. BfR). The number of prescribed antipsychotics showed a decrease while transitioning from BfR (673.1±55.3 thousand units) to DuR (403.9±51.0 thousand units, p<0.001), then a subsequent rise insufficient to reach the initial level (541.7±89.0 thousand units, p=0.011 vs. BfR, p=0.008 vs. DuR). Consumption of atypical antipsychotics significantly increased following BfR (7.6±0.5 DID), escalating to 9.0±1.4 DID in DuR (p<0.001), then 9.3±0.9 DID in AfR (p<0.001 vs. BfR). Typical antipsychotics demonstrated an increasing consumption trend from BfR (0.8±0.2 DID) to DuR (0.9±0.1 DID, p=0.03). In contrast, their consumption in AfR (0.9±0.1 DID) did not significantly differ from previous periods (p>0.05 vs. both). Expenditure on antipsychotics increased from 16.7±1.1 million Euros (m€) in BfR to 19.0±2.7 m€ in DuR (p<0.001), then slightly reduced in AfR (18.3±1.9 m€, p>0.05 vs. both). Conclusions: Our study revealed a surge of antipsychotic utilization in Turkey with the onset of the pandemic. This contrasts with the observed decrease in prescribing, which might be linked to difficulties in accessing a prescriber. Additionally, the discordance between increased consumption and observed cost trends might potentially be associated with reduced use of expensive treatment regimens due to interrupted physician follow-ups.
[1] Mendez-Brito A, El Bcheraoui C, Pozo-Martin F. Systematic review of empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19. J Infect. 2021;83(3):281-293.