1. Behavioural patterns in allergic rhinitis medication in Europe : a study using 28 MASK-air® real-world dataBernardo Sousa-Pinto, Ana Sá-Sousa, Rafael José Vieira, Rita Amaral, Ludger Klimek, Wienczyslawa Czarlewski, Josep M. Antò i Boquè, Oliver Pfaar, Anna Bedbrook, Mihaela Zidarn, Joao A. Fonseca, Jean Bousquet, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Background. Co-medication is common among patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), but its dimension and patterns are unknown. This is particularly relevant since AR is understood differently across European countries, as reflected by rhinitis-related search patterns in Google Trends. This study aims to assess AR co-medication and its regional patterns in Europe, using real-world data. Methods. We analysed 2015-2020 MASK-air® European data. We compared days under no medication, monotherapy, and co-medication using the visual analogue scale (VAS) levels for overall allergic symptoms (“VAS Global Symptoms”) and impact of AR on work. We assessed the monthly use of different medication schemes, performing separate analyses by region (defined geographically or by Google Trends patterns). We estimated the average number of different drugs reported per patient within one year. Results. We analysed 222,024 days (13,122 users), including 63,887 days (28.8%) under monotherapy, and 38,315 (17.3%) under co-medication. The median “VAS Global Symptoms” was 7 for no medication days, 14 for monotherapy and 21 for co-medication (p<0.001). Medication use peaked during the spring, with similar patterns across different European regions (defined geographically or by Google Trends). Oral H1-antihistamines were the most common medication in single and co-medication. Each patient reported using an annual average of 2.7 drugs, with 80% reporting two or more. Conclusions. AR medication patterns are similar across European regions. One third of treatment days involved co-medication. These findings suggest that patients treat themselves according to their symptoms (irrespective of how they understand AR), and that co-medication use is driven by symptom severity. Keywords: asthma -- drug therapy, rhinitis -- drug therapy, allergic rhinitis -- drug therapy, visual analogue scale, histamine antagonists, antihistamines, behavioural patterns, medication patterns, real-world data Published in DiRROS: 14.03.2022; Views: 866; Downloads: 302
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2. ARIA pharmacy 2018 "Allergic rhinitis care pathways for community pharmacy"Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevitch, Elisio Costa, Enrica Menditto, Olga Lourenço, Ettore Novellino, Slawomir Bialek, Vitalis Briedis, Roland Buonaiuto, Henry Chrystyn, Biljana Cvetkovski, Mihaela Zidarn, 2019, review article Abstract: Pharmacists are trusted health professionals. Many patients use over-the-counter (OTC) medications and are seen by pharmacists who are the initial point of contact of allergic rhinitis management in most countries. The role of pharmacists in integrated care pathways (ICPs) for allergic diseases is important. This paper builds on existing studies and provides tools intended to help pharmacists provide optimal advice/interventions/strategies to patients with rhinitis. The ARIA-pharmacy ICP includes a diagnostic questionnaire specifically focusing attention on key symptoms and markers of the disease, a systematic Diagnosis Guide (including differential diagnoses) and a simple flowchart with proposed treatment for rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity. Key prompts for referral within the ICP are included. The use of technology is critical to enhance the management of AR. However, the ARIA-pharmacy ICP should be adapted to local health care environments/situations as regional (national) differences exist in pharmacy care. Keywords: asthma -- guideline, allergic rhinitis -- Guideline, pharmacists, drug therapy, nonprescription drugs, critical pathways, allergic diseases Published in DiRROS: 09.10.2020; Views: 2373; Downloads: 409
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