Olopatadine

Context Pharmacy First This codelist is intended for a specific use-case: identifying prescribing of ophthalmic antihistamine treatments used in the Pharmacy First pathway, rather than broader allergy or ENT prescribing.

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

Included ophthalmic (eye drop) formulations of olopatadine wonly: Olopatadine (VTM) – SNOMED CT ID 776985002 Olopatadine 1 mg/mL eye drops (VMP) and all ophthalmic formulations

Excluded:

Mometasone + Olopatadine (VTM) – SNOMED CT ID 39997211000001106 Mometasone 25 micrograms/dose / Olopatadine 600 micrograms/dose nasal spray (VMP)

These combination products were excluded because they are intranasal corticosteroid/antihistamine combinations, intended for allergic rhinitis rather than allergic conjunctivitis, and would reduce specificity for GP eye care prescribing.

Borderline cases

The main borderline consideration was whether to include the combination nasal spray (mometasone + olopatadine).It was excluded due to its indication for allergic rhinitis, not ocular disease.Including it would introduce route and indication heterogeneity, weakening specificity for Pharmacy First conjunctivitis management. No borderline issues were identified for olopatadine eye drops, as these are clearly indicated for allergic conjunctivitis.

Sensitivity vs specificity The codelist was designed to be specific, focusing on ophthalmic olopatadine use in allergic conjunctivitis within Pharmacy First context and excluding intranasal combination therapies used for a different indication.

Additional information Olopatadine is a topical antihistamine used for allergic conjunctivitis. Only eye drop formulations were included to ensure alignment with GP clinical management pathways. Combination nasal preparations containing olopatadine were excluded to maintain a clean, conjunctivitis-specific codelist.