Off-label prescriptions in intensive care unit: the Chinese experience

Lin Liu, Hong-Yu Yang, Yan Lou, Jing Miao, Xiao-Yang Lu, Qing-Wei Zhao, Rong-Rong Wang, Sai-Ping Jiang,* Xing-Guo Zhang* Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background and purpose: Off-label prescriptions for critically ill patients pose several ethical and legal dilemmas for intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians. Yet, few data are available on the prevalence of this practice in critical care environment in China. This nationwide survey was performed to evaluate the conditions of off-label prescriptions in ICU within China.Methods: The survey was performed at the scene of the national ICU conferences in 2016. ICU clinicians attending the congress from 23 provinces across the country were invited. The features of the clinician’s off-label prescription practice were investigated and analyzed.Results: A total of 1,318 ICU clinicians completed the anonymous questionnaire. Of these, 76.2% prescribed off-label in clinical practice. A significant difference (p