Laboratory for Mother and Child Health, Department of Public Health, Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute, via G. La Masa 19, 20156, Milan, Italy, marina.bianchi@marionegri.it.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyse inter-and intra-country quantitative and qualitative differences in anti-asthmatic prescriptions to children and adolescents. METHODS: A literature search was performed in EMBASE and MEDLINE to identify pharmaco-epidemiological studies published from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2008 in which anti-asthmatic prescription prevalence in out-hospital children was measured. A meta-analytic weighted average and 95% confidence intervals of prescription prevalences were calculated using a random-effect(s) model. Inter- and intra-country quantitative and, where possible, qualitative prescribing patterns were compared and assessed. RESULTS: Twelve studies were identified (ten from Europe, one from Canada and one from the USA), but epidemiological indicators varied widely, and only eight were suitable for meta-analysis. The data from these studies revealed inter-country quantitative differences in prescription prevalences in the overall population