Clinical symptoms and 'off label' prescribing in children with asthma

Citation

Hoskins G, McCowan C & Neville R (2007) Clinical symptoms and 'off label' prescribing in children with asthma. British Journal of General Practice, 57 (536), pp. 220-222. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2042555/

Abstract
A UK-wide database of structured asthma review consultations was used to investigate the prevalence of ‘off-label' anti-asthma prescriptions in relationship to clinical symptoms of asthma control. The 1050 children (6.1%) aged 16 years or under issued with an off-label prescription reported more nighttime, daytime and activity asthma symptoms, and used more short-acting β2-agonist medication than their peers. Off-label prescribing for children with asthma in UK primary care is associated with worse levels of self-reported asthma control.

Keywords
asthma; child health; drug labeling; family practice; prescriptions

Journal
British Journal of General Practice: Volume 57, Issue 536