Ketotifen

Context

Pharmacy First – allergic conjunctivitis (ophthalmic pathway). Although ketotifen can be used more broadly (including oral use for allergy/asthma-related indications), this codelist is intended for a specific Pharmacy First use-case focusing on allergic conjunctivitis prescribing in primary care, particularly ophthalmic treatment.

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

We included Oral solution / suspension formulations: of Ketotifen (VTM) – SNOMED CT ID 776453005 and All associated formulations: Ketotifen 250 micrograms/mL eye drops (VMP) Ketotifen 250 micrograms/mL eye drops 0.4 mL unit dose preservative-free (VMP) We excluded non-ophtalmic formulations Ketotifen 1mg capsules (VMP) 39696911000001104 Ketotifen 1mg tablets (VMP) 39697111000001104 Ketotifen 1mg/5ml oral solution sugar free (VMP) 4030311000001100 Ketotifen 250micrograms/5ml oral suspension (VMP) 36459311000001109 Ketotifen 500micrograms/5ml oral solution (VMP) 36459411000001102 Ketotifen 250micrograms/5ml oral suspension (VMP) Code: (36459311000001109) Ketotifen 250micrograms/5ml oral suspension (Special Order) (AMP) Code: (36450011000001103)

Borderline cases

Oral ketotifen formulations (capsules, tablets, oral solutions/suspensions) were excluded as they are not directly used for allergic conjunctivitis in Pharmacy First. The VTM-level inclusion ensures no loss of prescribing activity where route coding may be incomplete. Ophthalmic use is the primary clinical relevance for Pharmacy First allergic conjunctivitis.

Sensitivity vs specificity The codelist is mixed but leans towards sensitivity, as it includes all ketotifen formulations (except oral formulations ) to ensure specific capture of prescribing activity potentially related to allergic conditions, supporting analysis of ophthalmic use within Pharmacy First.

Additional information Ophthalmic ketotifen is directly relevant to allergic conjunctivitis, oral formulations are primarily used for systemic allergy management. Inclusion of both routes allows flexibility for broader prescribing analysis, but ophthalmic eye drops are the most clinically relevant to Pharmacy First.