Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan;26(1):1-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.10.010. Epub 2012 Nov 23.

Generic antiepileptic drug prescribing: a cross-sectional study

Jennifer Meyer  1 , David Fardo, Steven T Fleming, Claudia Hopenhayn, Yevgeniya Gokun, Melody Ryan
Affiliations

Generic antiepileptic drug prescribing: a cross-sectional study

Jennifer Meyer et al. Epilepsy Behav. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

The use of generic antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with epilepsy is controversial. The purpose of this study is to identify patient characteristics associated with increased odds of receiving a generic AED product. A large commercial database was used to identify patients with a primary diagnosis of epilepsy who were prescribed an AED during a three-month window. Data analysis found that those ≥65 years old had 15.7% greater odds of receiving a generic AED (OR = 1.157; 95% CI = 1.056-1.268). Patients with Medicaid were found to have 2.44 times the odds of having had a generic AED prescription (OR = 2.44; CI = 2.168-2.754). Patients residing in the Northeast had 12.6% decreased odds of receiving a generic AED (OR = 0.874; C I= 0.821-0.931). These patient characteristics could signify certain health care disparities and may represent potential confounders to future observational studies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of the United States divided into South, Northeast, Midwest, West and Pacific regions [25].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of antiepileptic prescriptions by brand and generic formulation*. *Those AEDs comprising less than 1% of the collective prescriptions were not included on the graph.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Peterson GM. Generic substitution of antiepileptics: need for a balanced view. [cited 2012 Mar 9];CNS Spectr. 2011 16(8):169–175. [Internet, ePub ahead of print, Available from: PubMed]. - PubMed
    1. Shrank WH, Choudhry NK, Liberman JN, Brennan TA. The use of generic drugs in prevention of chronic diseases is far more cost-effective than thought, and may save money. Health Aff (Millwood) 2011;30(7):1351–1357. - PubMed
    1. Food and Drug Administration (US) Summary minutes of the advisory committee for pharmaceutical science and clinical pharmacology. [cited 2012 Mar 9];2011 [Internet]. available from: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMateria....
    1. Food and Drug Administration (US) Bioequivalence testing in the US for generic drug products. [Cited 2012 Mar 12]; [Internet]. available from: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs.
    1. Zachry WM, Doan QD, Clewell JD, Smith BJ. Case–control analysis of ambulance, emergency room, or inpatient hospital events for epilepsy and antiepileptic drug formulation changes. Epilepsia. 2009;50(3):493–500. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms