Table 1 Detailed analysis of the patterns of intermittent OCS use based on the spacing of OCS bursts and mean and median number of prescriptions used among UK patients with asthma.
From: Application of an algorithm to analyze patterns of intermittent oral corticosteroid use in asthma
OCS use pattern | n (%) | Mean number of prescriptions (SD) | Median number of prescriptions (IQR) |
|---|---|---|---|
Once-only | 198,422 (41.7) | 1.0 (1.0) | 1.0 (1.0, 1.0) |
Sporadic | 65,632 (13.8) | 2.4 (0.9) | 2.0 (2.0, 3.0) |
Any Infrequent | 33,854 (7.1) | 3.1 (1.4) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) |
Infrequent only | 1,445 (0.3) | 2.2 (0.6) | 2.0 (2.0, 2.0) |
Sporadic and infrequent | 32,409 (6.8) | 3.1 (1.4) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) |
Any moderately frequent | 27,933 (5.9) | 3.7 (2.0) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) |
Moderately frequent only | 155 (<0.1) | 2.7 (0.9) | 2.0 (2.0, 3.0) |
Sporadic, infrequent and moderately frequent | 8,836 (1.9) | 5.3 (2.2) | 5.0 (4.0, 6.0) |
Sporadic and moderately frequent | 17,371 (3.6) | 3.0 (1.3) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) |
Infrequent and moderately frequent | 1,571 (0.3) | 2.6 (1.0) | 2.0 (2.0, 3.0) |
Any frequent | 150,326 (31.5) | 8.7 (13.3) | 5.0 (3.0, 9.0) |
Sporadic, infrequent, moderately frequent and frequent | 39,842 (8.4) | 16.2 (15.6) | 12.0 (8.0, 19.0) |
Sporadic, infrequent and frequent | 29,432 (6.2) | 6.8 (6.3) | 6.0 (4.0, 8.0) |
Sporadic, moderately frequent and frequent | 17,455 (3.7) | 8.4 (14.3) | 6.0 (4.0, 8.0) |
Sporadic and frequent | 56,661 (11.9) | 3.8 (5.3) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) |
Infrequent, moderately frequent and frequent | 3,083 (0.6) | 12.1 (20.0) | 7.0 (4.0, 12.0) |
Infrequent and frequent | 2,136 (0.4) | 4.9 (10.1) | 3.0 (2.0, 5.0) |
Moderately frequent and frequent | 809 (0.2) | 18.0 (26.6) | 9.0 (6.0, 19.0) |
Frequent only | 908 (0.2) | 39.4 (66.1) | 20.0 (4.0, 46.0) |
Total | 476,167 (100.0) | 3.9 (8.2) | 2.0 (1.0, 4.0) |
