ß-Blockers and the Risk of Depression: A Matched Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a commonly cited adverse effect of ß-blockers but the evidence for a causal relationship is limited. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore whether ß-blockers are associated with an increased risk of new-onset depression. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study using the UK population-based Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD. We identified patients aged 18-80 years with an incident depression diagnosis between 2000 and 2016, and matched controls, and estimated the risk (odds ratio [OR]) of depression in association with use of ß-blockers. We also conducted analyses of exposure, categorised by number and timing of prescriptions and by indication for ß-blocker use. RESULTS: The study encompassed 118,705 patients with incident depression and the same number of matched controls. The odds of developing depression were increased for current short-term use of any ß-blocker (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.72-2.12), whereas current long-term use was not associated with the risk of depression compared with never use. The elevated risk of depression among short-term users was mostly confined to propranolol users with a neuropsychiatric disorder (aOR 6.33, 95% CI 5.16-7.76), while propranolol users with a cardiovascular indication were only at marginally increased risk of depression (aOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.14-1.82). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the association between use of ß-blockers and depression may not be causal but rather a result of protopathic bias. Propranolol is often prescribed to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms, suggesting that the onset of depression may be related to the underlying indication rather than to an effect of a ß-blocker therapy.

The potential negative impact of antibiotic pack on antibiotic stewardship in primary care in Switzerland: a modelling study.

BACKGROUND: In Switzerland, oral antibiotics are dispensed in packs rather than by exact pill-count. We investigated whether available packs support compliance with recommended primary care treatment regimens for common infections in children and adults. METHODS: Hospital-based guidelines for oral community -based treatment of acute otitis media, sinusitis, tonsillopharyngitis, community-acquired pneumonia and afebrile urinary tract infection were identified in 2017 in an iterative process by contacting hospital pharmacists and infectious diseases specialists. Furthermore, newly available national guidelines published in 2019 were reviewed. Available pack sizes for recommended solid, dispersible and liquid antibiotic formulations were retrieved from the Swiss pharmaceutical register and compared with recommended regimens to determine optimal (no leftovers) and adequate (optimal +/- one dose) matches. RESULTS: A large variety of recommended regimens were identified. For adults, optimal and adequate packs were available for 25/70 (36%) and 8/70 (11%) regimens, respectively. Pack-regimen matching was better for WHO Watch (optimal: 15/24, 63%) than Access antibiotics (optimal: 7/39, 18%). For the four paediatric weight-examples and 42 regimens involving child-appropriate formulations, optimal and adequate packs were available for only 14/168 (8%) and 27/168 (16%), respectively. Matching was better for older children with higher body and for longer treatment courses > 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: Fixed antibiotic packs often do not match recommended treatment regimens, especially for children, potentially resulting in longer than necessary treatments and leftover doses in the community. As part of national stewardship, a move to an exact pill-count system, including for child-appropriate solid formulations, should be considered.

Evaluation of drug-related problems and subsequent clinical pharmacists' interventions at a Swiss university hospital.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: The evaluation of clinical pharmacy services is essential for their further development and establishment. We analysed drug-related problems (DRPs) and subsequent clinical pharmacists' interventions (PIs) at a Swiss university hospital. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective analysis of DRPs and subsequent PIs that were identified and implemented during interdisciplinary ward rounds in internal medicine at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, between 2015 and 2017. We estimated the potential clinical and economic impact of PIs using a validated evaluation tool (CLEOde ). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Based on medication reviews of 5441 patients, clinical pharmacists identified 5024 DRPs, of which 2892 DRPs (57.6%) were followed by a PI that was directly accepted and implemented by the physician in charge and included in the present analysis. The leading cause and type of PIs were inappropriate dose and dose adjustment, respectively. Overall, 97.8% of DRPs were followed by PIs with an expected clinical benefit for the patients (major: 11.1%; moderate: 27.6%; minor: 59.1%). The drugs most often involved in PIs of major clinical impact were antithrombotics, acid blockers and cardiovascular drugs. With regard to the economic impact, 40.7% of DRPs implied PIs resulting in an increase of immediate therapy costs, whereas 39.3% implied PIs resulting in a decrease of immediate therapy costs. The remaining PIs were cost-neutral. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes that clinical pharmacists may help improve the effectiveness and safety of pharmacotherapy on acute care medical wards.

The risk of new onset depression in association with influenza--A population-based observational study.

IMPORTANCE: Case-reports provided evidence that influenza infections, particularly severe episodes, may exert neuronal damage in the CNS and thereby increase the risk of depression. OBJECTIVE: It was the aim of this study to analyse the association between influenza infections and the risk of developing incident depression. DESIGN: We conducted a case-control analysis between 2000 and 2013 using the large UK-based primary care database Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). SETTING: This database contains anonymous longitudinal data from primary care. At present, it contains over 100 million person-years of data from some 10 million active patients. PARTICIPANTS: We encompassed 103307 patients below the age of 80 years with an incident major depression diagnosis between 2000 and 2013, and matched each case to one control patient on age, sex, general practice, number of medical encounters, and years of history in the CPRD prior to the index date. EXPOSURE: Major depression diagnosis was identified by READ-codes based on ICD-10 codes (F32), with a minimum of three prescriptions for antidepressant drugs recorded after the diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOME: We calculated relative risk estimates of developing depression in association with previous influenza infections, stratified by the number, timing and severity of such events, and we adjusted for a variety of comorbidities, smoking status, alcohol intake, body mass index, use of oral corticosteroids, and benzodiazepines. RESULTS: Patients with a previous influenza infection had an increased risk of developing depression (OR 1.30, 95%CI 1.25-1.34) compared to patients with no history of influenza infections. A recent influenza infection recorded within 30-180 days prior to the index date yielded an adjusted 1.57 (95%CI 1.36-1.81), and an increasing number of previous influenza infections was associated with increasing odds ratios (⩾ 3 recorded influenza infections, adjusted OR 1.48, 95%CI 1.22-1.81). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that influenza infections are associated with a moderately increased risk of developing depression.

Issues around the Prescription of Half Tablets in Northern Switzerland: The Irrational Case of Quetiapine.

BACKGROUND: Prescription of fragmented tablets is useful for individualisation of dose but includes several drawbacks. Although without score lines, the antipsychotic drug quetiapine was in 2011 the most often prescribed 1/2 tablet in discharge prescriptions at the University Hospital in Basel (USB, 671 beds). We aimed at analysing the prescription patterns of split tablets in general and of quetiapine in particular in Switzerland. METHODS: All orders of community pharmacies for unit-of-use soft pouch blisters placed at Medifilm AG, the leader company in Switzerland for repackaging into pouch blisters, were analysed. RESULTS: Out of 4,784,999 tablets that were repacked in 2012 in unit-of-use pouch blisters, 8.5% were fragmented, mostly in half (87.6%), and were predominantly psycholeptics (pipamperone 15.8%). Prescription of half quetiapine appears to be a Basel specificity (highest rates of fragments and half quetiapine). CONCLUSIONS: Prescription of fragmented tablet is frequent. It represents a safety issue for the patient, and a pharmaceutical care issue for the pharmacist. In ambulatory care, the patient's cognitive and physical capacities must be clarified, suitability of the splitting of the tablet must be checked, appropriate aids must be offered, like a pill-splitting device in order to improve accuracy, and safe use of the drug must be ensured.

Dose calculation in opioid rotation: electronic calculator vs. manual calculation.

OBJECTIVE: To generate, validate and establish a web-based individualised opioid conversion calculator at the University Hospital Basel and to analyse its value and significance. SETTING: A 700-bed university hospital. METHOD: Published data were screened by a Medline search using the keywords: opioid, rotation, switching, potency and dose ratio. Based on this data, the criteria for the conversion calculator were defined. A prospective process validation was performed prior to the approval. Five months after the introduction of the tool, an online survey was performed in order to evaluate its acceptance by users. In the last step, a manual calculation using a written table was compared with the calculator in a cross-over trial with 72 participants in order to assess the findings of the survey. RESULTS: The opioid conversion calculator could be generated for 24 combinations of 6 opioids for 5 different routes of administration. The validation of the calculator was performed successfully without discovering any major or critical defects. The proportion of correct answers increased from 68% using the table to 81% using the calculator (P < 0.001), the median time necessary to answer the ten questions was 8.9 min using the table and 4.8 min using the calculator. CONCLUSION: A web-based opioid conversion calculator was planned, generated, validated and established at the hospital. Based on the results of the online survey and the results of our cross-over trial we conclude that the tool saves time compared to manual calculation and may contribute to patient safety by avoiding calculation errors. With this tool we contribute to the optimisation of processes in hospital and patient safety.