Pahor M, Chrischilles E A, Guralnik J M, Brown S L, Wallace R B, Carbonin P
Chair of Gerontology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Eur J Epidemiol. 1994 Aug;10(4):405-11. doi: 10.1007/BF01719664.
In epidemiologic studies that collect comprehensive information on medication use, the complexity of dealing with a large number of trade and generic names may limit the utilization of these data bases. This paper shows the specific advantage of using two coding systems, one to maximize efficiency of data entry, and the other to facilitate analysis by organizing the drug ingredients into hierarchical categories. The approach used by two large surveys, one in the USA and one in Italy, is described: the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) and the 'Gruppo Italiano di Farmacovigilanza nell' Anziano' (GIFA). To enter the medications into a computerized database, codes matching the drug product names are needed. In the EPESE the prescription and over the counter drug products are coded with the Drug Products Information Coding System (DPICS) and the Iowa Nonprescription Drug Products Information Coding System (INDPICS), respectively. The GIFA study uses the coding system of the Italian Ministry of Health (MINSAN), with a unique numeric code for each drug product available in Italy. To simplify the analytical process the drug entry codes are converted into hierarchical coding systems with unique codes for specific drug ingredients, chemical and therapeutic categories. The EPESE and GIFA drug data are coded with the Iowa Drug Information System (IDIS) ingredient codes, and the Anatomical Therapeutic and chemical (ATC) codes, respectively. Examples are provided that show coding of diuretics in these two studies and demonstrate the analytic advantages of these systems.
在收集药物使用全面信息的流行病学研究中，处理大量商品名和通用名的复杂性可能会限制这些数据库的利用。本文展示了使用两种编码系统的具体优势，一种用于最大化数据录入效率，另一种通过将药物成分组织成层次类别来便于分析。描述了两项大型调查所采用的方法，一项在美国，一项在意大利：老年人流行病学研究既定人群（EPESE）和“意大利老年药物警戒小组”（GIFA）。要将药物录入计算机数据库，需要与药品名称匹配的代码。在EPESE中，处方药和非处方药产品分别用药品信息编码系统（DPICS）和爱荷华非处方药产品信息编码系统（INDPICS）进行编码。GIFA研究使用意大利卫生部（MINSAN）的编码系统，为意大利现有的每种药品提供唯一的数字代码。为了简化分析过程，将药物录入代码转换为具有特定药物成分、化学和治疗类别的唯一代码的层次编码系统。EPESE和GIFA的药物数据分别用爱荷华药物信息系统（IDIS）成分代码和解剖治疗化学（ATC）代码进行编码。提供了示例，展示了这两项研究中利尿剂的编码，并证明了这些系统的分析优势。
