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. 2022 Sep;88(9):4224-4229.
doi: 10.1111/bcp.15388. Epub 2022 May 19.

Who prescribes quetiapine in Denmark?

Mikkel Højlund  1   2 , Lotte Rasmussen  1 , Morten Olesen  1 , Trine Munk-Olsen  3   4 , Anton Pottegård  1   5
Affiliations

Who prescribes quetiapine in Denmark?

Mikkel Højlund et al. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

The second-generation antipsychotic quetiapine is commonly used off-label for its anxiolytic and hypnotic properties. However, quetiapine is associated with problematic side-effects. We used Danish Medicinal Product Statistics and a 20% random sample of the Danish population's prescription fills (2001-2020) to describe the utilization of quetiapine and proportion of various prescriber types (general practitioner [GP], specialist in private practice, hospital physician and other prescribers) both in connection to first-time and subsequent prescriptions. In 2020, 92% of all quetiapine was dispensed outside hospitals and the average daily dispensed quantity of quetiapine per user corresponded to 100 mg/user/d. A GP issued 53% of first-time prescriptions and 75% of subsequent prescriptions for quetiapine in 2020. The proportion of quetiapine prescriptions issued by GPs varied by age group-from 14% among 0-17-year-olds to 93% among the ≥80-year-olds. Future initiatives on the rational use of quetiapine and related drugs, especially among adults, should target GPs.

Keywords: antipsychotics; off-label; prescriber; quetiapine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Mikkel Højlund reports personal honoraria for consultancy/lecturing from the Lundbeck Foundation and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. unrelated to this work. Lotte Rasmussen reports participation in research projects funded by Novo Nordisk with no relation to the work reported in this paper. Anton Pottegård reports participation in research projects funded by Alcon, Almirall, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Boehringer‐Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, Servier and LEO Pharma, all regulator‐mandated phase IV‐studies, all with funds paid to the institution where he was employed (no personal fees) and with no relation to the work reported in this paper. The remaining authors reports no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Overall development in the use of quetiapine in Denmark (2001–2020). Left panel: 1‐year prevalence (users/1000 inhabitants), average daily dose per user (DDD/user/d) and total consumption (DDD/1000 inhabitants/d). Centre panel: 1‐year prevalence (users/1000 inhabitants) by age groups. Right panel: Total amounts of quetiapine sold by sector (1000 DDDs). Source: The Danish Register of Medicinal Product Statistics. Available at: www.medstat.dk/en
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Proportion of prescriptions for quetiapine issued by general practitioners, private specialists and hospital physicians in Denmark (2001–2020)
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Proportion of prescriptions for quetiapine issued by general practitioners, private specialists and hospital physicians in Denmark (2020) by age group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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