Dataset Information

Assessing medication use patterns in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a retrospective study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To describe patterns of medication use-that is, dexamethasone; remdesivir; and tocilizumab-in the management of patients hospitalised with COVID-19.

Design and setting

Retrospective observational study, using routinely collected, linked electronic data from clinical practice in Scotland. Data on drug exposure in secondary care has been obtained from the Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration System.

Participants

Patients being treated with the drugs of interest and hospitalised for COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 10 November 2021.

Outcomes

Identification of patients subject to the treatments of interest; summary of patients' baseline characteristics; description of medication use patterns and treatment episodes. Analyses were descriptive in nature.

Results

Overall, 4063 patients matching the inclusion criteria were identified in Scotland, with a median (IQR) age of 64 years (52-76). Among all patients, 81.4% (n=3307) and 17.8% (n=725) were treated with one or two medicines, respectively; dexamethasone monotherapy accounted for the majority (n=3094, 76.2%) followed by dexamethasone in combination with tocilizumab (n=530, 13.0%). Treatment patterns were variable over time but roughly followed the waves of COVID-19 infections; however, the different drugs were used to varying degrees during the study period.The median (IQR) treatment duration differed by medicine: dexamethasone 5 days (2-9); remdesivir 5 days (2-5); and tocilizumab 1 day (1-1). The overall median (IQR) length of hospital stay among all patients included in the study cohort was 9 days (5-17); 24.7% of patients died in hospital.

Conclusion

The use of adjuvant medicines in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 appears in line with evolving evidence and changing treatment guidelines. In-hospital electronic prescribing systems are a valuable source of information, providing detailed patient-level data on in-hospital drug use.

SUBMITTER: Mueller T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9723413 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Assessing medication use patterns in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a retrospective study.

Mueller Tanja T Kurdi Amanj A Hall Elliott E Bullard Ian I Wapshott Jo J Goodfellow Anna A Platt Niketa N Proud Euan E McTaggart Stuart S Bennie Marion M Sheikh Aziz A

BMJ open 20221205 12

<h4>Objective</h4>To describe patterns of medication use-that is, dexamethasone; remdesivir; and tocilizumab-in the management of patients hospitalised with COVID-19.<h4>Design and setting</h4>Retrospective observational study, using routinely collected, linked electronic data from clinical practice in Scotland. Data on drug exposure in secondary care has been obtained from the Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration System.<h4>Participants</h4>Patients being treated with th ...[more]

PMID: 36576189

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Project description:IntroductionCOVID-19 has caused millions of hospitalisations and deaths globally. A range of vaccines have been developed and are being deployed at scale in the UK to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, which have reduced risk of infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes. Those with COVID-19 are now being treated with several repurposed drugs based on evidence emerging from recent clinical trials. However, there is currently limited real-world data available related to the use of these drugs in routine clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to address the prevailing knowledge gaps regarding the use of dexamethasone, remdesivir and tocilizumab by conducting an exploratory drug utilisation study, aimed at providing in-depth descriptions of patients receiving these drugs as well as the treatment patterns observed in Scotland.Methods and analysisRetrospective cohort study, comprising adult patients admitted to hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 across five Scottish Health Boards using data from in-hospital ePrescribing linked to the Early Estimation of Vaccine and Anti-Viral Effectiveness (EAVE II) COVID-19 surveillance platform. The primary outcome will be exposure to the medicines of interest (dexamethasone, remdesivir, tocilizumab), either alone or in combination; exposure will be described in terms of drug(s) of choice; prescribed and administered dose; treatment duration; and any changes in treatment, for example, dose escalation and/or switching to an alternative drug. Analyses will primarily be descriptive in nature.Ethics and disseminationEthical and information governance approvals have been obtained by the National Research Ethics Service Committee, South East Scotland 02 and the Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care, respectively. Findings from this study will be presented at academic and clinical conferences, and to the funders and other interested parties as appropriate; study findings will also be published in peer-reviewed journals. Publications will be available on the EAVE II website (https://www.ed.ac.uk/usher/eave-ii/key-outputs/our-publications), alongside lay summaries and infographics aimed at the general public. Press releases will also be considered, if appropriate.

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Project description:ObjectiveTo report the clinical characteristics of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Southeast Michigan.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingEight hospitals in Southeast Michigan.Participants3219 hospitalised patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection by nasopharyngeal PCR test from 13 March 2020 until 29 April 2020.Main outcomes measuresOutcomes were discharge from the hospital or in-hospital death. Examined predictors included patient demographics, chronic diseases, home medications, mechanical ventilation, in-hospital medications and timeframe of hospital admission. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify risk factors for in-hospital mortality.ResultsDuring the study period, 3219 (90.4%) patients were discharged or died in the hospital. The median age was 65.2 (IQR 52.6-77.2) years, the median length of stay in the hospital was 6.0 (IQR 3.2-10.1) days, and 51% were female. Hypertension was the most common chronic disease, occurring in 2386 (74.1%) patients. Overall mortality rate was 16.0%. Blacks represented 52.3% of patients and had a mortality rate of 13.5%. Mortality was highest at 18.5% in the prepeak hospital COVID-19 volume, decreasing to 15.3% during the peak period and to 10.8% in the postpeak period. Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with older age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.05, p<0.001) for every increase in 1 year of age and being male (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.81, p<0.001). Certain chronic diseases increased the odds of in-hospital mortality, especially chronic kidney disease. Administration of vitamin C, corticosteroids and therapeutic heparin in the hospital was associated with higher odds of death.ConclusionIn-hospital mortality was highest in early admissions and improved as our experience in treating patients with COVID-19 increased. Blacks were more likely to get admitted to the hospital and to receive mechanical ventilation, but less likely to die in the hospital than whites.

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Dataset Information

Assessing medication use patterns in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a retrospective study.

Objective

Design and setting

Participants

Outcomes

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Assessing medication use patterns in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a retrospective study.

Similar Datasets

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