SDI: Antiviral prescriptions dramatically increase this week

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. After an intense weekend of media coverage about a possible swine flu epidemic, U.S. antiviral prescriptions, such as Tamiflu and Relenza, hit the highest point so far in 2009 and increased nine-fold on Monday, April 27, compared with the average daily volume of collected prescriptions from April 1-26, SDI released in a report Thursday evening.

“Although it is not uncommon for the number of antiviral prescriptions to increase at different times throughout the season,” stated Laurel Edelman, VP clinical accounts at SDI, “we don’t expect to see such a dramatic increase in one day at the end of the season.”

The upward trend in antiviral prescriptions began on Friday, April 24 — the day after the first public Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement of swine flu cases in California and Texas — and has remained at a similar level since, with Tuesday’s volume still nearly nine times that of the April daily average.

In the metropolitan statistical areas of New York and Los Angeles, antiviral prescriptions rose significantly higher. In New York, prescription volume increased to more than 14 times the daily April average in that area on Monday, and rose even higher to 15 times the daily norm on Tuesday.

Los Angeles saw the most dramatic increase so far, with daily prescription volume on April 27 increasing 16-fold to the highest point it has reached on any single day in the past two flu seasons. Prescription volume remained at a similar level on Tuesday, with volume 13 times higher than normal.

As of April 24, all physician office visit trends appeared consistent with a typical flu season and one that was mild, compared with the season before. As a result, antiviral prescriptions between Oct. 1 and April 24 were lower than the same period last season.