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. 2022 Jul 29:10:942377.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.942377. eCollection 2022.

Antiviral treatment in outpatients with herps zoster in six major areas of China, 2010-2019

Zhenwei Yu  1 , Yuhua Zhao  2 , Jiayi Jin  1 , Jianping Zhu  1 , Lingyan Yu  3 , Gang Han  1
Affiliations

Antiviral treatment in outpatients with herps zoster in six major areas of China, 2010-2019

Zhenwei Yu et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the status and trends of antiviral treatment in outpatients with herpes zoster in China.

Methods: Prescription data on antiviral drugs were extracted from the database of the Hospital Prescription Analysis Program of China according to the inclusion criteria. Yearly prescriptions and costs were calculated, and trends were analyzed. The trends were further stratified by age, sex, and specific drug use. The distribution of defined daily costs (DDCs) of valaciclovir and famciclovir were analyzed, and trends in the median DDCs were identified.

Results: A total of 132,911 prescriptions from 49 hospitals located in six major areas of China were included in the analysis. The yearly prescriptions containing antivirals increased from 8,819 in 2010 to 16,361 in 2019. The percentage of prescriptions for patients aged 65 years and above also increased (27.7% in 2010 to 31.0% in 2019), and the number of prescriptions for females was higher than those for males (P < 0.001). The average cost of antivirals per prescription decreased; thus, the yearly cost showed no increasing trend. The main prescribed antivirals were valaciclovir and famciclovir, which progressively increased in prescriptions. The use of acyclovir decreased during the study period. Prescriptions containing topical formulations, acyclovir and penciclovir, both increased. The DDCs of valaciclovir and famciclovir decreased dramatically.

Conclusion: The use of antivirals has increased over the decade, while the cost has not. Antiviral treatments adhere well to recent recommendations, except for the use of topical antivirals. The findings of this study may benefit the healthcare source allocation and management of herpes zoster in China.

Keywords: acyclovir; cost; famciclovir; prescription; valaciclovir.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trends in the prescription of antiviral drugs for patients with herps zoster in six major areas of China. (A) Overall yearly prescriptions and cost; (B) Yearly prescription of individual drugs; (C) Antiviral cost percentages. Percentage of cost means the percentage of overall yearly cost of specific drug.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Yearly distribution of antivirals prescriptions in individual hospitals. (A) Valaciclovir; (B) Famciclovir. Prescription rate means the yearly percentage of prescriptions containing specific drug. Each column shows the distribution of prescription rate of prescriptions containing specific drug, and the width of the column represents the relative number of hospitals. The dotted lines in column represent the first quartile and the third quartile of the distribution, and the solid line in column represents the median of the distribution.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Defined daily cost of antivirals in each year. (A) Valaciclovir; (B) Famciclovir. The numbers represent the median defined daily cost for each year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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