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Prescriptions and Dispensings of Central Nervous System (CNS) Stimulants: A Descriptive Analysis

    Basic Details
    Date Posted
    Status
    Complete
    Medical Product
    central nervous system stimulants
    Description

    In this feasibility analysis, we identified prescriptions for selected central nervous system (CNS) stimulants and a set of comparator drugs and evaluated the proportion of prescriptions that were followed by a dispensing in the Sentinel Distributed Database (SDD). The analysis was repeated in two time periods, one representing a period before a known drug shortage affecting the CNS stimulants of interest, and one representing the shortage period itself. The proportion of prescriptions followed by a dispensing was compared between the CNS stimulants and comparator drugs across time periods using a difference-in-differences approach. FDA attempted to analyze prescribing and dispensing around the time that lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate products were in shortage; however, exposure data requested by FDA were unavailable for the requested study period.

    The study period included data from September 1, 2021 through February 28, 2023. We distributed this request to three Sentinel Data Partners: one on August 26, 2024, one on October 8, 2024, and one on November 4, 2024.

    Additional Details
    FDA Center
    CDER
    Time Period
    September 1, 2021 - February 28, 2023
    Analysis Type
    Descriptive
    Population / Cohort
    Individuals 64 years of age and younger
    Data Sources
    Sentinel Distributed Database (SDD)