Can social listening data be used to provide meaningful insights into abuse or inappropriate use of bupropion? (A feasibility analysis) (202115)

Study type

• Study topic:
  Human medicinal product
• Study type:
  Non-interventional study
• Scope of the study:
  Other
• If ‘other’, further details on the scope of the study:
  Observational feasibility study
• Data collection methods:
  Secondary use of data

Non-interventional study

• Non-interventional study design:
  Other
• Non-interventional study design, other:
  Retrospective descriptive observational study

Study drug and medical condition

• Study drug International non-proprietary name (INN) or common name:
  AMITRIPTYLINE

  BUPROPION

  CODEINE BP

  DIAZEPAM

Population studied

• Short description of the study population:
  Data were collected from publicly available social media or internet forum posts from individuals who chose to post on Bluelight or Opiophile by EpidemicoTM through the DataSiftTM platform or directly from the in-scope website administrators. The population was thus self-selecting and voluntary, and included users from any country or background as long as they posted in the English language and agreed to the site’s policies.
• Age groups:
  • Adults (18 to < 46 years)
  • Adults (46 to < 65 years)
  • Adults (65 to < 75 years)
  • Adults (75 to < 85 years)
  • Adults (85 years and over)
• Estimated number of subjects:
  100

Study design details

• Main study objective:
  The purpose of this analysis is to determine the feasibility to use social media for collecting meaningful insights into potential abuse or inappropriate use of bupropion.
• Data analysis plan:
  Bupropion abuse data available will be compared to positive controls—those with established abuse liability greater than bupropion (methyphenidate, alprazolam), negative controls—non-controlled substances with negligible abuse liability, similar to current international classification of bupropion (venlafaxine, amitriptyline), and opioid controls (buprenorphine, oxycodone).