Table 3.
Positive predictive values for the total adverse drug reactions and cough only cases within the test positive groups (patients who discontinued or switched), Sensitivity and specificity considering the definite adverse drug reactions
| Switchers to ARB | Switchers to other than ARB | Stoppers | Switchers total | Total discontinuation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPV definite % (95 % CI) | |||||
| 3 M | 55.0 (47.9–62.0) | 33.5 (26.1–41.9) | 17.5 (13.6–22.1) | 46.1 (40.7–51.5) | 32.1 (28.5–35.8) |
| 6 M | 56.1 (48.8–63.1) | 39.6 (30.8–49.1) | 19.5 (15.1–24.7) | 50.0 (44.2–55.7) | 35.4 (31.5–39.5) |
| PPV at least probable % (95 % CI) | |||||
| 3 M | 68.9 (62.0–75.1) | 52.2 (43.8–60.5) | 35.7 (30.5–41.2) | 61.9 (56.5–67.1) | 49.1 (45.2–53.0) |
| 6 M | 68.3 (61.2–74.6) | 58.4 (48.9–67.4) | 36.0 (30.4–42.0) | 64.6 (58.9–70.0) | 51.0 (46.8–55.1) |
| PPV at least Possible % (95 % CI) | |||||
| 3 M | 90.9 (85.9–94.2) | 83.5 (76.3–88.9) | 87.6 (83.5–90.8) | 87.8 (83.8–90.9) | 87.7 (84.9–90.0) |
| 6 M | 90.5 (85.4–94.0) | 82.0 (73.7–88.2) | 86.5 (81.9–90.2) | 87.4 (83.0–90.7) | 87.0 (83.9–89.5) |
| PPV definite Cough cases only % (95 % CI) | |||||
| 3 M | 45.4 (38.4–52.6) | 19.4 (13.6–26.9) | 11.6 (8.5–15.7) | 34.5 (29.5–39.9) | 23.3 (20.2–26.8) |
| 6 M | 46.1 (38.9–53.4) | 23.5 (16.5–32.5) | 13.4 (9.8–18.0) | 37.7 (32.3–43.5) | 26.1 (22.6–29.9) |
| Sensitivitya definite cases % (95 % CI) | |||||
| 3 M | 91.1 (84.4–95.1) | 95.7 (85.7–98.8) | 80.6 (69.5–88.3) | 92.5 (87.3–95.6) | N/A |
| 6 M | 91.8 (85.1–95.9) | 93.3 (82.1–97.7) | 80.9 (69.5–88.7) | 92.2 (86.9–95.5) | N/A |
| Specificitya definite cases % (95 % CI) | |||||
| 3 M | 67.8 (61.9–73.1) | 59.7 (53.1–65.9) | 53.7 (49.5–57.8) | 64.1 (59.7–68.2) | N/A |
| 6 M | 68.4 (62.4–73.8) | 61.6 (54.1–68.7) | 54.2 (49.6–58.7) | 65.7 (61.0–70.1) | N/A |
PPV positive predictive value, ARB angiotensin receptor blocker, CI confidence interval, N/A not applicable
aTo calculate the sensitivity and specificity, where it was possible, for each patient from the test positive groups (discontinuation or switch), a patient from the test negative group (continuation) was selected and medical records were searched for the same duration of ACEI use
3 M and 6 M denote time intervals in months between a renewal of an ACEI prescription and the theoretical end date of the previous prescription