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Biomedical subjects

B Westerholm

Publications and source records attributed to B Westerholm.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Why are psychotropic drugs prescribed to out-patients? A methodological study.

The prescription of psychotropic drugs at a multidoctor district health centre in northern Sweden in 1973, was analysed by means of problem-oriented medical records. Of the 22,000 inhabitants of the district 10,700 consulted the health centre. Psychotropic drugs were prescribed for 11.3% of the patients, corresponding to 5% of the inhabitants of the area. Sixty per cent of the patients received one psychotropic prescription and 90% not more than three. Two-thirds of prescriptions were for women. Hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquillisers constituted 64% of all prescriptions, major tranquillisers 24% and antidepressants 12%. One fifth of the patients obtained drugs belonging to more than one of the major psychotropic groups during the year. Insomnia, psychoneurosis and depression made up two-thrids of the indications for psychotropic drug therapy. More than thirty different psychotropic drugs were prescribed for the two major indications. There was considerable variation in how the different doctors prescribed drugs for the same indication. Fifty-nine different drug products were prescribed, of which the commonest five constituted more than half of the total number. Individual doctors used from 22 to 38 different psychotropic drugs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Adverse drug reactions during treatment of urinary tract infections.

Adverse reactions reported to the Swedish Adverse Drug Reaction Committée concerning Sulfapral (a sulphonamide combination for urinary tract infections) and nitrofurantoin were remarkably similar. The commonest hypersensitivity reactions were in skin and lung. During the 10-year period 1966-75 reactions to the sulphonamide were fewer (n=327) than those reported for nitrofurantoin (n=781), but the former appeared to carry a higher mortality rate - 4.6% of reported sulphonamide reactions were fatal as compared to only 1.0% for nitrofurantoin (P less than 0.001). The number of reactions to the sulphonamide tended to remain constant, whereas those to nitrofurantoin increased rapidly, both absolutely as well as relative to sales of the drug.

Drug Combinations↗
PubMed1977

Purchases of hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquillizers among 2,566 individuals in the county of Jämtland, Sweden. A 6-year follow-up.

Data from a continuous recording of drug prescriptions to 16,600 individuals in the county of Jämtland, Sweden, revealed that 2,566 patients (15.5%) obtained prescriptions for hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquillizers in 1970. Occasional use (one purchase only, Group A) was seen in 7.4% of the population, intermediate use (two to six purchases, Group B) in 6.9% whereas 1.2% were regular users (seven purchases or more, Group C). For each group as a whole there was 5 years later a highly significant intraindividual reduction in the purchases of these drugs as well as of other psychotropic drugs. In all groups 10-23% had increased their purchases, most of them insignificantly. Fifteen of 30 patients with a marked increase in consumption developed a regular purchase pattern, but signs of overuse or abuse were seen in only four persons. During the studied period the benzodiazepines increased their share of the total from 45 to 60%. Antihistamines also increased in all groups while the proportion of barbiturates and combined preparations decreased markedly.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗