The dynamics of chronic gout treatment: medication gaps and return to therapy.
Am J Med
; 123(1): 54-9, 2010 Jan.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20102992
OBJECTIVE: To identify gaps in therapy with urate-lowering drugs for the treatment of gout as well as factors associated with resuming therapy. METHODS: From 2 integrated delivery systems, we identified patients 18 years or older with a diagnosis of gout who initiated use of a urate-lowering drug from January 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006 and who had a gap in therapy. A gap was defined as a period of over 60 days after the completion of 1 prescription in which no refill for a urate-lowering drug was obtained. Survival curves were used to assess return to therapy of urate-lowering drugs. Cox proportional hazards analysis estimated the association between covariates and return to therapy. RESULTS: There were 4166 new users of urate-lowering drugs (97% received allopurinol), of whom 2929 (70%) had a gap in therapy. Among those with a gap, in 75% it occurred in the first year of therapy. Fifty percent of patients with a gap returned to therapy within 8 months, and by 4 years it was 75%. Age 45-74 years (<45 referent) and greater duration of urate-lowering drug use before the gap was associated with resuming treatment within 1 year. In contrast, receipt of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or glucocorticoids in the year before the gap was associated with a reduced likelihood of resuming therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of gout patients with gaps in urate-lowering drug use returned to treatment. More investigation is needed to better understand why patients may go for months without refilling prescriptions, given the clinical consequences of nonadherence.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Supresores de la Gota
/
Cooperación del Paciente
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Gota
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
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Incidence_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Med
Año:
2010
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos