| Title | Variability in the Prescription of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine. | | Author(s) | Villar-Fernández I, Bjerrum L, Feja C, Rabanaque MJ | | Institution | Pharmacy Service, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, Spain. | | Source | Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2009 Nov 2; 28(4):373-379. | | Abstract | Background/Aim: To estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment in Aragon (Spain), analyzing differences according to age, gender and health area.
Methods: Retrospective study on AD treatment prevalence of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine during 2005, using pharmaco-epidemiological data from prescription refunds transferred monthly from pharmacies to the Health Care Service.
Results: Differences between health areas were considerable, with adjusted prescription rates between 121.6 and 248.6/100,000 individuals. Treatment rates for women doubled those of men in each health area. Variability was greater among men than women. Drug prescription distribution was also different between health areas.
Conclusion: Considerable variability in AD treatment has been detected. More consensus is needed to reduce variability in order to improve the quality of the pharmacotherapy for AD and assure equal treatment opportunities for every patient. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19887800 |
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