Korean J Clin Pharm.  2018 Jun;28(2):117-123. 10.24304/kjcp.2018.28.2.117.

Medical Utilization and Antibiotics Use of Prostatitis Patients in Korea

• Lee B
• Choi YJ
• Choi Y
• Kong N
• Choi M

• KMID: 2416670
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24304/kjcp.2018.28.2.117

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Prostatitis, one of the most common diseases of the prostate, is a complex disease with various clinical features. This study aims to analyze the utilization and prescribing patterns of antibiotics in Korean patients with prostatitis between 2008 and 2015.
METHODS
We used the National Health Insurance Database complied from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). The outcomes included the number of claims, number of patients, medical cost, and length of stay for each year. In addition, the prescribing patterns of antibiotics, including fluoroquinolone, and low-dose use of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin were investigated.
RESULTS
The total number of patients and medical cost increased by 9.5% and 51.7% from 2008 to 2015, respectively. Most prostatitis patients were classified as chronic prostatitis patients. The prescribing proportion of antibiotics for chronic prostatitis outpatients decreased from 71.0% to 66.9% from 2008 to 2015, and fluoroquinolone accounted for more than half of the total antibiotics. Over 80% of prescription of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was identified to be for low-dose use.
CONCLUSION
Most of the patients with prostatitis experienced pain relief and condition improvement after antibiotic treatment; however, chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome recur easily. Therefore, active disease management and further studies are needed to enhance our understanding of effective treatment for prostatitis.

Keyword

Antibiotics; fluoroquinolone; medical utilization; prostatitis

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents*
Ciprofloxacin
Disease Management
Humans
Insurance, Health
Korea*
Length of Stay
Levofloxacin
National Health Programs
Outpatients
Pelvic Pain
Prescriptions
Prostate
Prostatitis*
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Ciprofloxacin