Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of patients and requests
| Characteristics | Patients (N = 226) |
|---|---|
| Age (median, IQR) years | 46 (33–62) |
| < 18 years (%) | 28 (12.4) |
| 18–64 years (%) | 147 (65.0) |
| ≥65 years (%) | 51 (22.6) |
| Gender (%) | |
| Female | 133 (59) |
| Male | 93 (41) |
| Morbidity (%) | |
| Arterial hypertension (%) | 58 (25.7) |
| Hyperlipidemia (%) | 32 (14.2) |
| Diabetes (%) | 25 (11.1) |
| Chronic renal failure (%) | 14 (6.2) |
| Coronary heart disease | 13 (5.7) |
| Heart failure (%) | 3 (1.3) |
| Previous treatments for the target diseases (median, IQR) | 3 (2–5) |
| Clinical services (%) | |
| Gastroenterology | 33 (14.6) |
| Internal medicine | 30 (13.3) |
| Neurology | 28 (12.4) |
| Paediatrics | 24 (10.6) |
| Oncology | 14 (6.2) |
| Allergy | 14 (6.2) |
| Nephrology | 13 (5.8) |
| Haematology | 13 (5.8) |
| Dermatology | 12 (5.3) |
| Othersa | 45 (19.9) |
| Off-label drug use condition (%) | |
| Unapproved indication | 204 (90.3) |
| Unapproved condition | 10 (4.4) |
| Unapproved indication and condition | 12 (5.3) |
| Reasons for off-label drug use (%). Lack of clinical response (or suboptimal) to the previous treatments | 163 (72.1) |
| No other drugs approved for that indication/condition | 28 (12.4) |
| Intolerance to the previous treatments | 26 (11.5) |
| Preferred to the alternative drugs for that patient (clinical/logistical reasons) | 20 (8.8) |
| Contraindications to the alternatives | 10 (4.4) |
a Pneumology (9), rheumatology (9), otorhinolaryngology (6), ophthalmology (4), intensive care medicine (4), thoracic surgery (4), gastrointestinal surgery (3), vascular surgery (2) and other services with only one case (4)