Outcomes following discontinuation of dosulepin in patients in Wales
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A retrospective study to analyse the outcomes following discontinuation of dosulepin in patients in Wales following the introduction of a national prescribing indicator
IRAS ID
243979
Contact name
Paul Deslandes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 2 days
Research summary
The tricyclic antidepressant dosulepin is associated with an increased risk of toxicity compared to other antidepressants, particularly when taken in overdose. In order to reduce the risk of patients experiencing adverse effects associated with dosulepin, the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) introduced a National Prescribing Indicator (NPI) to monitor and encourage a reduction in its usage in primary care in Wales in 2011. A previous study conducted by the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC) showed a reduction in prescribing of dosulepin following the introduction of the NPI.
The aim of the present study is to compare the outcomes of patients who continued to receive dosulepin and those who discontinued, in order to assess whether the reduced prescribing of dosulepin has in fact led to improved patient outcomes.
The study will use data provided by the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) database. This database includes information from GP systems, hospital admissions and other sources, stored in a way that provides information on individual patient experiences in an anonymised form. Therefore, no patient identifiable information will be available to the researchers.
Patients will be grouped according to whether or not they continued dosulepin. The analysis will look at differences in the outcomes of patients in each of the groups, and also look at the demographic information for the patients who ended up in each group (e.g. age, gender, and whether they smoked) to see if there are any obvious patterns.This work will help to confirm whether the implementation of the NPI, and the resulting change in prescribing habits, lead to improved patient outcomes. It will also help to determine whether patient demographics have any impact on the likelihood they will benefit from the desired change in prescribing practices.
REC name
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REC reference
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