Table 1.
Case study conditions and associated prescriptions
| Case study | Relevant prescriptions/patient inclusion criteria |
| Glucose control with oral drug therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus | Patients receiving one or more prescriptions for an oral antidiabetic drug listed under the BNF Section 6.1.2 Antidiabetic Drugs in any year from 2004 to 2014 |
| Treatment of hypertension in type 2 diabetes mellitus | In addition to receiving an oral antidiabetic drug as defined in (1), patients receiving one or more prescriptions for any ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, calcium-channel blockers, beta-adrenoceptor blockers, alpha-adrenoceptor blockers, potassium-sparing diuretics and/or thiazide-like diuretics in any year from 2004 to 2014 |
| Treatment with statins (lipid management) in type 2 diabetes mellitus | In addition to receiving an oral antidiabetic drug as defined in (1), patients receiving one or more prescriptions for a statin in any year from 2004 to 2014 |
| Treatment for the secondary prevention of myocardial infraction | In addition to receiving concurrent* prescriptions for an ACE inhibitor, antiplatelet and statin for at least 1 year in duration, patients receiving one or more prescriptions for beta-adrenoceptor blockers and/or angiotensin II receptor antagonists in any year from 2004 to 2014 |
| Treatment of depression | Patients receiving one or more prescriptions for any antidepressant drug listed under BNF Section 4.3 Antidepressant Drugs in any year from 2004 to 2014 |
(1) refers to the first row in the table, that is the relevant prescriptions/patient inclusion criteria for the case study "Glucose control with oral drug therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus".
*All patients receiving at least one prescription for an ACE inhibitor, antiplatelet drug and statin were first identified in Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Patients from this sample that did not have at least four prescriptions (chosen to represent 1 year of therapy) for each of these drugs in at least one of the 11 years of data available (ie, 2004–2014) were excluded. From the remaining patients, the additional constraint of receiving one or more prescriptions for any beta-adrenoceptor blockers and/or angiotensin II receptor antagonists was applied to define the full sample.
BNF, British National Formulary.