Table 3.
Classes of medications filleda by patients with CIU/CSU
| Medication | Number | Percent | Mean (SD) days supply filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral corticosteroids | 3474 | 54.7 | 32.5 (55.7) |
| Prescription antihistamineb | 1526 | 24.0 | 107.7 (115.3) |
| Prescription H1-antihistaminec | 1034 | 16.3 | 96.4 (103.4) |
| Prescription H1-antihistamine, non-sedating | 728 | 11.5 | 116.1 (102.4) |
| Prescription H1-antihistamine, other | 371 | 5.8 | 41.0 (67.6) |
| Prescription H2-antihistamined | 626 | 9.9 | 103.3 (103.0) |
| Leukotriene receptor antagonistse | 1113 | 17.5 | 133.5 (116.0) |
| Dapsone, doxepin, hydroxychloroquine, or sulfasalazine | 779 | 12.3 | 127.9 (126.6) |
| Immunosuppressive agents (cyclosporine, mycophenolate, or methotrexate) | 204 | 3.2 | 142.8 (108.5) |
| Omalizumab | 35 | 0.6 | 6.1 (3.4)f |
| Epinephrine autoinjector | 1227 | 19.3 | NA |
CIU/CSU chronic idiopathic or spontaneous urticarial, NA not applicable
aClaims data report only prescription fills, not actual medication use
bThe database did not include non-prescription antihistamines
cNon-sedating H1-antihistamines included cetirizine HCl, desloratidine, fexofenadine HCl, levocetirizine dihydrochloride, and loratidine; sedating H1-antihistamines included brompheniramine, carbinoxamine, chlorpheniramine, clemastine, cyproheptadine, dexbrompheniramine, dexchlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, doxylamine, pheniramine, promethazine, pyrilamine, tripelennamine, triprolidine
dCimetidine, ranitidine, famotidine, nizatidine
eMontelukast, zafirlukast, zileuton
fParenteral medications do not report “days of supply” on claims, therefore the mean number of doses is reported here