Dramatic decrease in fluoroquinolones in the pediatric population in Korea

Abstract

Korean regulatory actions regarding fluoroquinolones had an effect of reducing use in pediatric population.

A national pharmacoepidemiological study of antibiotic use in Korean paediatric outpatients

“…The number of antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 paediatric outpatients was 8984 in 2011, similar to results from the Korean paediatric sample data 13. This greatly exceeds the number in the USA (592 prescriptions) and the UK (537 prescriptions) 29 30.…”

“…Even though the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics might be a cause of treatment failure in AOM, over 50% of antibiotic prescription is amoxicillin/clavulanate in Korea 28 38 39. Quinolone use in Korean paediatrics is in the acceptable range as the result of a nationwide computerised drug utilisation review 13. Considering the relatively high adherence rates for antibiotic prescription to the national clinical guidelines, it is necessary to develop country-specific APQIs and educate practitioners to improve the quality of their antibiotic selection.…”

“…Koreans consumed 36% more antibiotics than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average in 2011 9 11. Patterns of antibiotic use in Korean paediatrics were reported recently using sample data collected from only 10% of the patients 12 13. However, evaluation of broad-spectrum antibiotic use and analysis of acute bronchitis, a valid quality indicator in the primary care setting, was not included 14.…”

Decrease in use of contraindicated drugs with automated alerts in children

“…Antibiotics were the drugs most commonly associated with adverse drug reactions in the pediatric population . Prior research also showed a 94.55% relative reduction in the use of fluoroquinolones in the pediatric population in Korea after the 2009 regulatory action . A recent study in Korea also indicated that the government announcement of drug contraindications immediately reduced the number of prescriptions of age‐contraindicated antibiotics per million prescriptions: by 841 for ciprofloxacin, 1,089 for levofloxacin, and 3,058 for ofloxacin .…”

Pediatric fluoroquinolone prescription in South Korea before and after a regulatory intervention: A nationwide study, 2007-2015

“…Although one study has assessed FQ use in Korean pediatric patients, it used patient sample data and short study period of two years, and thus limited in evaluating the overall, sustained impact of the nationwide intervention [30]. Thus, the aims of our study were 1) to quantify the national pediatric use of fluoroquinolones and 2) to evaluate the sustained as well as immediate effect of nationwide implementation of age restriction on fluoroquinolone use by analyzing the changing rates and patterns of prescription over 9 years.…”