5-ASA PRESCRIPTION REFILL RATES FOR ULCERATIVE COLITIS ARE INDEPENDENT OF FORMULATION & DOSING REGIMENS
S Magowan, S Kane, J Lange
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
PURPOSE: To observe in clinical practice the 5-ASA prescription refill profiles in the year following treatment initiation among patients with ulcerative colitis
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used records of health service utilization from the multiple US health plans within the MedStat MarketScan database. Treatment initiation was defined as use in the year 2003 with no 5-ASA use in the prior 6 months. The study subjects were patients of any age or sex, who had a physician visit diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (ICD-9-CM 556). Refills of 5-ASA prescriptions were measured in 3 month intervals after treatment initiation.
RESULTS: There were 1,680 ulcerative colitis patients who initiated 5-ASA treatment; Asacol® (n=1,045, 62%), Sulfasalazine (n=294, 17.5%), Colazal® (n=213, 12.6%), Pentasa® (n=128, 7.6%). Upon initiation of treatment, the median dosing regimen per formulation was 2.4 g of Asacol® (6 pills of 400 mg), 2.0 g of Sulfasalazine (4 pills of 500 mg), 6.75 g of Colazal® (9 pills of 750 mg), and 4.0 g of Pentasa® (16 pills of 250 mg). The transition of presumed acute to chronic therapy (month 3) is the most critical period determining the degree of prescription loss for 5-ASA use (figure). After 3 months, the decrease in prescription refills continued at approximately 1.0% per month.
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This research was funded by Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals