Vitamin B complex per 1000 patients by all Sub-ICB Locations
Why it matters: One of the most common reasons why vitamin B has been prescribed is to prevent Wernicke's encephalopathy in chronic alcohol disorders. A 2019 position statement from the Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee (RMOC) states that:
- Due to a lack of evidence on their efficacy and safety, vitamin B complex preparations (vitamin B compound and vitamin B compound strong tablets) should not be prescribed for prevention of Wernicke’s Encephalopathy (WE) in alcoholism
- Vitamin B complex preparations should not be prescribed for preventing deficiency or for maintenance treatment following treatment for deficiency.
- Vitamin B complex preparations should not be prescribed as dietary supplements. Patients who wish to use them for dietary supplementation should be advised to purchase them over the counter.
- Vitamin B compound strong tablets may be prescribed on a short-term basis (10 days) for patients at risk of refeeding syndrome. This also applies to patients who are not harmful or dependent drinkers.
- In rare cases where there might be a justifiable reason for prescribing vitamin B complex e.g. medically diagnosed deficiency or chronic malabsorption, vitamin B compound strong and not vitamin B compound should be prescribed as it represents better value for money.
The RMOC advice is to review all existing patients prescribed vitamin B complex preparations with a view to stopping treatment in all but exceptional circumstances, such as in those patients with a medically diagnosed deficiency due to lifelong or chronic condition, or following surgery that results in malabsorption.
Description: Prescribing of vitamin B complex (normal and strong tablets) per 1000 registered patients
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Tagged as: Standard, Efficacy, NICE (or browse all measures)
Sub-ICB Locations are ordered by mean percentile over the past six months. Each chart shows the results for the individual Sub-ICB Location, plus deciles across all Sub-ICB Locations in the NHS in England.
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