Use of antituberculosis drugs in Spain 1996

Purpose - To determine and analyse the consumption of antituberculosis agen ts in Spain. Methods - Pharmacoepidemiological study on the use of antituberculosis agen ts during 1996 using data from prescriptions redeemed by the National Healt h Service. Results - During 1996, 5 533 233 defined daily doses (DDD) were consumed. O f these, 2 215 890 DDDs belonged to a combination commercialized as Rifinah (Rifampicin + Isoniazid). The use of daily doses per inhabitant in Spain w as 0.37. Regarding the percentage of use, this reflects a use of 40.05% of the Rifinah combination, followed by Rifampicin, 17.59%. Regarding estimati on of tuberculosis, the findings of the study revealed 11 202 cases, implyi ng a prevalence of 27.7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. The total cost of th is group of drugs was 863 275 147 Pts (0.1% of the total amount met by the NHS), Expenditure in Pts per 1000 inhabitants was 21 326. Of total costs, 4 0.26% was from Rifinah. Isoniazid was the drug with the lowest cost, 0.17%. Conclusions - The most prescribed drug in Spain was the Rifampicin + Isonia zid combination. However, differences exist in the different regions of the country and these should receive further study. The estimated prevalence o f tuberculosis is higher than that expected for a developed country such as Spain. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.