Databases for pediatric medicine research in Europe-assessment and critical appraisal

Purpose To identify and describe European health care databases that can be used for pediatric pharmacoepidemiological research. Methods A web-based survey was conducted among all European databases that were listed on the website of the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) and/or known by an expert group. The survey comprised of questions regarding (a) the nature of the database, (b) database size, (c) demographic, clinical and drug related data provided, (d) cost, and (e) accessibility of the database.