Misdiagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in clinical practice in Europe and the USA: a patient chart review and physician survey.

Objective: Delays in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis can result in compromised disease management and unnecessary costs. We examined the extent of ALS misdiagnosis in the US and Europe.

Methods: Data were collected via the Adelphi ALS Disease Specific Programme™, a cross-sectional survey of physicians and a medical chart review of their consulting patients with ALS in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK (EU5), and the US.

Use of clinical classifications software to address ICD coding transition in large healthcare databases analyzed via high-dimensional propensity scores.

Purpose: The EUPAS26595 study characterized the rate of acute renal failure (ARF) in patients exposed to levetiracetam versus other antiepileptic drugs using healthcare claims data and a high-dimensional propensity score (hd-PS) for confounding adjustment. The data contained several coding systems by design and an update in International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coding dictionary. Such coding heterogeneity can affect the performance of hd-PS, and manually coding harmonization is not feasible.

Social media and internet search data to inform drug utilization: A systematic scoping review.

Introduction: Drug utilization is currently assessed through traditional data sources such as big electronic medical records (EMRs) databases, surveys, and medication sales. Social media and internet data have been reported to provide more accessible and more timely access to medications' utilization.

Objective: This review aims at providing evidence comparing web data on drug utilization to other sources before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Incidence of Acute Renal Failure in Patients Using Levetiracetam Versus Other Antiseizure Medications: A Voluntary Post-Authorization Safety Study.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury is an expected adverse drug reaction listed in the European Union (EU) Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for levetiracetam, one of the most widely used modern antiseizure medications (ASMs).

Objective: We conducted a voluntary post-authorization safety study to characterize the rate of acute renal failure (ARF) in patients exposed to levetiracetam versus other ASMs.

Methods: New users of ASMs without prior renal dysfunction were identified and followed for 30 days in the IBM MarketScan database (USA, January 2008-December 2017).

SCOR: A secure international informatics infrastructure to investigate COVID-19.

Global pandemics call for large and diverse healthcare data to study various risk factors, treatment options, and disease progression patterns. Despite the enormous efforts of many large data consortium initiatives, scientific community still lacks a secure and privacy-preserving infrastructure to support auditable data sharing and facilitate automated and legally compliant federated analysis on an international scale. Existing health informatics systems do not incorporate the latest progress in modern security and federated machine learning algorithms, which are poised to offer solutions.

Adverse Drug Reaction Risk Measures: A Comparison of Estimates from Drug Surveillance and Randomised Trials.

Background: Most drug regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies hold databases of spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Detection systems for ADR signals have been created by specialists to analyse such reports, based on the concept of disproportionality, in order to support safety decision making. However, these measures are often misinterpreted by non-specialists in pharmacovigilance.

Getting to Long-Term Effectiveness and Safety of Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medications.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication use has dramatically increased in youth worldwide. Recent prevalence data in some European countries show expanded use with one country now matching US usage. Still, substantial geographic differences by country remain regarding the extent to which children receive ADHD medications.

Latest trends in ADHD drug prescribing patterns in children in the UK: prevalence, incidence and persistence.

Objectives: To investigate attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug prescribing in children under 16 years old in the UK between 1992 and 2013.

Methods: All patients under 16 registered in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) with a minimum of 1 year of observation time and who received at least one prescription of any ADHD drug between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2013.Trends in prevalence and incidence of use of ADHD drugs in children were calculated between 1995 and 2013 and persistence in new users was estimated.

Bivalent human papillomavirus vaccine and the risk of fatigue syndromes in girls in the UK.

Introduction: Over 70% of cervical cancers are related to human papillomavirus types 16 and 18. In 2008, the vaccine Cervarix, protecting against these two strains, was introduced into the routine UK immunisation programme for girls aged 12-13 years, with a catch-up in girls aged up to 18 years. As part of the risk management planning for this new campaign, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) anticipated a range of conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome, which might be reported as adverse events in temporal association with the vaccine.