Open AccessReview of Medicine Utilization for Parkinson's Disease Management: The Bulgarian Perspective
Author(s) -
Zornitsa Mitkova,
Maria Kamusheva,
Dobrinka Kalpachka,
D. Ignatova,
Konstantin Tachkov,
Guenka Petrova
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.579
H-Index - 13
ISSN - 2279-9028
DOI - 10.4081/jphr.2021.2396
Subject(s) - medicine , levodopa , guideline , medical prescription , parkinson's disease , disease , alternative medicine , intensive care medicine , pharmacology , pathology
Background Parkinson's disease (PD), which occurs in 1% of the population, is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Despite the broad spectrum of PD manifestations and high disease prevalence, there are insufficient data on medicine utilization and prescription strategies. The purpose of the current study was to analyze published data concerning treatment approaches and to compare them with Bulgarian therapeutic practice.Design and methods We conducted a systematic review of the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, and we calculated medicine utilization in Bulgaria during 2018 and 2019 using the WHO methodology.Results The literature search identified a total of 311 publications, but only 12 met the inclusion criteria. Eleven studies pointed out that levodopa-containing medicine are the most frequently used, followed by dopamine agonists. The highest rate was found for levodopa-containing products and decarboxylase inhibitor (1.06 and 1.33 DDD/1000 inh/day), followed by anticholinergic Biperiden (0.494 and 0.455 DDD/1000 inh/day) during 2018 and 2019 in Bulgaria.Conclusion Overall, the treatment approaches used in the last decade comply with guideline recommendations, despite variations in levodopa and dopamine agonist utilization. Even though new medicines have been approved for PD management, levodopa- containing products are still most often prescribed and used worldwide.