PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 342 - 8 Dec 2001

Inhaled corticosteroids inpaediatric patients with asthma

Low-income children and adolescents with asthmaare significantly less likely to receive inhaledcorticosteroids than those from high-income families,report investigators from Canada.

They used 1995–1998 prescription data for 12 481patients aged 5–15 years from Manitoba, Canada.Compared with children and adolescents from higher-income families insured through the Pharmacare drugplan, low-income children and adolescents insuredthrough the same drug plan were 12% less likely toreceive a new prescription for an inhaled corticosteroid,following 6 months of no use.* Children and adolescentsinsured through provincial income assistance or federaltreaty First Nations prescription programmes were 18%less likely to receive such a prescription.* Inhaled corticosteroids included beclomethasone, budesonide,fluticasone propionate, flunisolide and triamcinolone.

Kozyrskyj AL, et al. Socioeconomic status, drug insurance benefits, and newprescriptions for inhaled corticosteroids in schoolchildren with asthma. Archives ofPediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 155: 1219-1224, Nov 2001 800885670

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 8 Dec 2001 No. 3421173-5503/10/0342-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved