PhD Scientific Days 2024

Poster Session B - Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Technologies 1.

Prescribing Habits of Tolperisone in Hungary: the Effect of Indication Restriction and Direct Healthcare Professional Communication Letters

Előadó neve

Dr. Marton, Szandra

Neptun code

F7X1C9

Előadó munkahelye

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy

Előadó telefonszáma

+36205622962

Előadó e-mail címe

marton.szandra@semmelweis.hu

Az előadás címe

Prescribing Habits of Tolperisone in Hungary: the Effect of Indication Restriction and Direct Healthcare Professional Communication Letters

Szerző(k) neve és munkahelye

Szandra Marton¹, Eszter Puhl¹, Mátyás Pétervári^1,2, Zsolt Varga³, Péter Ferdinandy^1,4, Bence Ágg^1,4

1: HUN-REN–SU System Pharmacology Research Group, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University
2: Sanovigado Ltd.
3: Centre of Science & Innovations Vice-Rector and Business Development, Semmelweis University
4: Pharmahungary Group

Bemutatás módja

Poszter

Szekció

Poster Session B - Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Technologies 1.

Language of the presentation

English

Preferred session

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Technologies

Összefoglaló szövege

Introduction
Tolperisone is a centrally acting muscle relaxant used to treat spasms and spasticity. Due to life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions reported since 2003, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) decided to restrict its use to post-stroke spasticity in adults. The Hungarian National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition issued direct healthcare professional communication (DHPC) letters in 2013 and 2020. These DHPC letters warned healthcare professionals about the associated risks and indication restriction.
Aims
We aimed to evaluate the effect of DHPC letters for tolperisone on the indication of prescription trends in Hungary.
Method
We examined indication data categorized by ICD-10 codes to track the prescribed use of tolperisone-containing medications. We analyzed the prescription trends before the first DHPC letter, between the two letters, and after the second letter. Indication data were sourced from the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary.
Results
Our analysis of Hungarian prescriptions revealed that the 10 most prescribed indications were musculoskeletal disorders after the first DHPC letter. The on-label indication still ranked low (9th place) after the second letter, pointing to concerning off-label use.
Conclusion
The Hungarian DHPC letters had a minimal impact on the prescribing habits for tolperisone. Although there was a slight shift towards appropriate use, a substantial portion of prescriptions continued to fall outside the recommended indications. Regularly evaluating the effectiveness of DHPC letters and monitoring off-label use would contribute to the safe use of medications.
Funding
This study has been supported by a Semmelweis 250+ Excellence Fellowship to Szandra Marton, MD.
This project has received funding from the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network.
Project no. RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00003 has been implemented with the support provided by the European Union.

University

Semmelweis University

Supervisor

Péter Ferdinandy, MD, PhD, DSc, MBA and Bence Ágg, MD, PhD

Publication of my abstract

I do not give consent to the publication of my abstract on the website of the congress.

Kind

Szabad

Status

elfogadva

Accepted presentation method

poszter

Előadás fájl jóváhagyás

nem rendelkezett róla

Előadó

8088

Start

14:55

End

14:58