Non-cardiovascular medication and readmission for heart failure: an observational cohort study
Recent studies suggest that women are more susceptible to diuretic-induced hyponatremia resulting in hospital admission than men. The aim of this study was to confirm whether these sex differences in hyponatremia related hospital admissions in diuretic users remain after adjusting for several confounding variables such as age, dose, and concurrent medication.
Increased Risk of Stroke Due to Non-adherence and Non-persistence with Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOACs): Real-World Analyses Using a Nested Case-Control Study from The Netherlands, Italy and Germany
A high degree of adherence to direct oral anticoagulants is essential for reducing the risk of ischaemic stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation, owing to the rapid decline in anticoagulation activity when doses are omitted (i.e. rebound effect).
Incidence of Lyme Borreliosis in the Dutch General Practice Population: A Large-Scale Population-Based Cohort Study Across the Netherlands Between 2015 and 2019
There is a need for updated incidence rates (IRs) of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Europe, including the Netherlands. We estimated LB IRs stratified by geographic area, year, age, sex, immunocompromised status, and socioeconomic status (SES).
Observed-over-Expected analysis as additional method for pharmacovigilance signal detection in large-scaled spontaneous adverse event reporting
The large-scale COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in 2021 and 2022 led to a rapid increase in numbers of received adverse event reports in spontaneous reporting systems. As background incidences of naturally occurring medical events became increasingly relevant for causality assessment of potential associations with the vaccines, a novel approach for signal detection was warranted. The O/E method is a useful approach for signal detection of potential adverse reactions when handling large numbers of ICSRs. Further research is needed to attest to the causality on a clinical basis.
Prescribing of Low-dose Rivaroxaban in Patients with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands
Low-dose rivaroxaban has been indicated for the management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) after recent (2019-2020) updates to European guidelines. We aimed to describe prescription trends of low-dose rivaroxaban in ASCVD patients over the period 2015-2022 in two European countries, to compare the trends before and after guideline changes, and to determine the characteristics of users
Safety and effectiveness of rivaroxaban for prevention of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: analysis of routine clinical data from four countries
The safety and effectiveness of rivaroxaban versus vitamin K antagonists (standard of care [SOC]) for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) was evaluated in Europe. Observational studies were conducted in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden. Primary safety outcomes were hospitalization for intracranial hemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding, or urogenital bleeding among new users of rivaroxaban and SOC with NVAF; outcomes were analyzed using cohort (rivaroxaban or SOC use) and nested case–control designs (current vs nonuse). Statistical analyses comparing rivaroxaban and SOC cohorts were not performed.
Time Trends in Patient Characteristics of New Rivaroxaban Users with Atrial Fibrillation in Germany and the Netherlands
Patient characteristics of new rivaroxaban users with non-valvular atrial fibrillation changed between 2011 and 2016/17, but changes differed between countries. These patterns have methodological implications. They have to be considered in the interpretation of observational studies comparing effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulants, especially regarding potential bias due to unmeasured confounding.
Methodology of the brodalumab assessment of hazards: a multicentre observational safety (BRAHMS) study
Safe and effective pharmacological treatment is of paramount importance for treating severe psoriasis. Brodalumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin (IL) 17 receptor A, was granted marketing authorisation in the EU in 2017. The European Medicines Agency requested a postauthorisation safety study of brodalumab to address potential safety issues raised during drug development regarding major adverse cardiovascular events, suicidal conduct, cancer and serious infections
Are higher antidepressant plasma concentrations associated with fall risk in older antidepressant users?
Antidepressants are well-established fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and therefore falls should be considered an important adverse drug event (ADE) of antidepressants. However, not all antidepressant users experience fall incidents and factors associated with increased fall risk among antidepressant users are incompletely understood. Our objective was to explore whether antidepressant plasma concentrations are associated with falls in older antidepressant users.
Women on diuretics have a higher risk of hospital admission because of hyponatremia than men
Our findings show a higher risk of hyponatremia-related hospital admission in women than men while using diuretics. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanism of this sex difference to be able to provide sex-specific recommendations.