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Pharmacoepidemiology
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Women’s Special Issue Series: Pharmacoepidemiology
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Women’s Special Issue Series: Pharmacoepidemiology

A special issue of Pharmacoepidemiology (ISSN 2813-0618).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 3352

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlotta Franchi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Pharmacoepidemiology and Human Nutrition, Department of Health Policy, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy
Interests: pharmacoepidemiology; appropriateness of drug prescription; drug safety; medication adherence; geriatric pharmacology; nutrition; educational randomized controlled trials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Li-Chia Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Interests: drug utilisation research; medication safety; medication adherence; deprescribing; prescribing indicators; optimising opioids and chronic pain; adherence to oral systemic anti-cancer therapy
Dr. Carlotta Lunghi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Life Sciences, Health and Health Professions, Link Campus University, Rome, Italy
2. Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
3. Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
4. Population Health and Best Health Practices Research Group, CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center, Québec, QC, Canada
Interests: pharmacoepidemiology; drug utilization research; medication adherence; medication persistence; administrative databases; mental health epidemiology; polypharmacy; multimorbidity; environmental impact of medications; medication review
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue entitled “Women’s Special Issue Series: Pharmacoepidemiology” to celebrate and highlight the achievements of women in the development of pharmacoepidemiology, the key research area spanning clinical pharmacology and epidemiology.

For this Special Issue, we invite submissions of original research articles and comprehensive review papers including, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Designs, analyses, results, and interpretations of studies on drugs, biologics, or medical devices;
  • Molecular pharmacoepidemiology;
  • The methodology of pharmacoepidemiology;
  • Pharmacovigilance/preventative pharmacovigilance/ecopharmacovigilance;
  • Patient safety;
  • Pharmacoepidemiology studies in targeted populations and settings;
  • Patterns in drug utilization;
  • Patterns in drug prescription, the appropriateness of prescriptions, and overprescription;
  • Polypharmacology;
  • Randomized controlled drug trials;
  • Systematic reviews or meta-analyses related to drugs;
  • Post-marketing surveillance;
  • Pharmacoeconomics;
  • The formulation and interpretation of regulatory guidelines;
  • Studies on the benefits/safety/effectiveness of pharmaceuticals, biologics, or medical devices;
  • Harm/benefit assessments in drug therapy;
  • The evaluation of risk management plans for pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Carlotta Franchi
Prof. Dr. Li-Chia Chen
Dr. Carlotta Lunghi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmacoepidemiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pharmacoepidemiology
  • pharmacovigilance
  • preventative pharmacovigilance
  • ecopharmacovigilance
  • patient safety
  • patterns in drug utilization
  • polypharmacology
  • randomized controlled drug trials
  • post-marketing surveillance
  • pharmacoeconomics

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 403 KB  
Article
Antibiotic Prescribing for Group B Streptococcus Coverage in Preterm Prelabour Rupture of Membranes: A Retrospective Cohort Study
by Elaf Abuelgasim, Mark McIntyre and Najla Tabbara
Pharmacoepidemiology 2026, 5(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharma5010008 - 7 Mar 2026
Viewed by 531
Abstract
Background: Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) is the spontaneous rupture of fetal membranes prior to 37 weeks of pregnancy. Latency antibiotics, including macrolides with or without group B streptococcus (GBS)-covering antibiotics, are recommended as part of expectant management. Currently, there is [...] Read more.
Background: Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) is the spontaneous rupture of fetal membranes prior to 37 weeks of pregnancy. Latency antibiotics, including macrolides with or without group B streptococcus (GBS)-covering antibiotics, are recommended as part of expectant management. Currently, there is no consensus on whether GBS-covering antibiotics should be prescribed. The primary objective of this retrospective cohort study was to characterize practice variation in GBS-covering antibiotic prescribing in PPROM. The secondary objective was to explore the association between maternal characteristics and GBS-covering antibiotic prescribing. Methods: Pregnant women with PPROM prescribed azithromycin (institutional standard antibiotic regimen) in 2024 and not in active labour were included. Maternal characteristics, stratified by GBS status, were compared. The association between antibiotic prescribing for GBS coverage and maternal factors was assessed using odds ratios. Two-sided p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the 181 admissions assessed for eligibility, 146 patients were included. Their GBS status at PPROM diagnosis was negative (19/146; 13%), positive (8/146; 5%), or unknown (119/146; 82%). The frequency of GBS-covering antibiotics prescribing was 5/8 (63%) in the positive group, 4/19 (21%) in the negative group, and 65/119 (55%) in those with an unknown GBS status. Aminopenicillin-based and penicillin regimens accounted for (69/74; 93%) of antibiotic regimens. Half (38/74; 51%) of the GBS-covering antibiotics were prescribed for 3–7 days, with a 33/74 (45%) completion rate as prescribed at PPROM diagnosis. The main reason for antibiotic discontinuation was negative GBS recto-vaginal swabs or urine cultures collected in those with an unknown GBS status at PPROM diagnosis, highlighting the role of microbiology laboratory testing in adjusting antibiotic therapy and facilitating antimicrobial stewardship. Aside from GBS status, no maternal characteristics were associated with GBS-covering antibiotic prescribing. Conclusions: At PPROM diagnosis, GBS coverage was prescribed in 21%, 63%, and 55% of patients with a negative, positive, and unknown GBS status, respectively. Only GBS status was associated with GBS-covering antibiotic prescribing. Further research is required to determine the impact of GBS coverage on perinatal outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Special Issue Series: Pharmacoepidemiology)
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15 pages, 396 KB  
Article
Agreement Between Medico-Administrative Database Algorithms and Survey-Based Diagnoses for Depression and Anxiety in Older Adults
by Giraud Ekanmian, Carlotta Lunghi, Helen-Maria Vasiliadis and Line Guénette
Pharmacoepidemiology 2025, 4(2), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharma4020012 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1314
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the concordance between depression and anxiety case definitions derived from algorithms based on medico-administrative data and structured interviews aligned with the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria in older [...] Read more.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the concordance between depression and anxiety case definitions derived from algorithms based on medico-administrative data and structured interviews aligned with the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria in older adults. Methods: We analyzed data from 1405 primary care older adults (≥65 years) from the Étude sur la Santé des Aînés (ESA)-Services cohort (2011–2013) in Quebec, Canada, who had available survey and medico-administrative data. Cases of depression and anxiety were identified using algorithms incorporating combinations of hospitalization records, physician-visit claims, and medication claims for antidepressants or anxiolytics. The agreement was assessed with the kappa statistics (κ), and the algorithms’ sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated using the case definitions derived from the DSM-IV-aligned ESA-Services interviews as the gold standard. Results: Agreements between the algorithms and the interviews were fair (κ: 0.06–0.22) for depression gooand slight (κ: 0.02–0.09) for anxiety. The algorithms had low sensitivity (2–39.7% for depression and 1.4–39.9% for anxiety) but high specificity (84.5–99.6% for depression and 73–99.2% for anxiety), depending on the algorithm. Conclusions: The agreement between algorithms based on administrative data and DSM-IV-aligned interviews for anxiety or depressive disorders was low. The two methods identified older adults with different characteristics. Despite these discrepancies, algorithms with high specificity provide valuable insights into healthcare utilization patterns associated with these disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Special Issue Series: Pharmacoepidemiology)
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