J Korean Soc Transplant.  2010 Dec;24(4):289-297.

Medication Adherence in Patients Taking Immunosuppressants after Kidney Transplantation

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3The Nursing Policy Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, Korea. shchu@yuhs.ac

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Kidney transplant recipients inevitably take a life-long immunosuppressive medication to prevent graft rejection. Non-compliance to immunosuppressive medication is one of the main causes leading to acute and chronic rejection and diminished renal function, resulting in a return to dialysis, increased morbidity, or mortality with an additional health care cost and poor quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate actual medication compliance and its related factors.
METHODS
A total of 222 functioning kidney transplant recipients were surveyed in a single center, and 25 patients were excluded due to incomplete responses. We reviewed medical records retrospectively, and the data were statistically analyzed with SPSS version 13.0.
RESULTS
Among 197 patients, 113 (57.4%) were compliant to the immunosuppressive agents, and 84 (42.6%) recipients were non-compliant. Non-compliant patients were significantly younger (P=0.004), highly educated (P=0.004), employed (P=0.005), more likely to live alone (P=0.035), and drank more (P=0.001) than the compliant patients. Regarding psychosocial factors, more barriers (P=0.015), weak beliefs about the necessity of taking medications (P=0.001), strong beliefs about specific concerns related to medications (P=0.038), and low self efficacy (P=0.003) were identified in the non-compliant group compared with the compliant group.
CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed that multiple factors affected medication compliance in patients taking immunosuppressants. It would be helpful to identify potential recipients with a risk for non-compliance based on their general characteristics and psychosocial factors, so they can be provided a specialized education program to promote compliance. This strategy may help produce more favorable long-term outcomes among kidney transplant recipients.

Keyword

Kidney transplant recipients; Immunosuppressants; Medication adherence

MeSH Terms

Compliance
Dialysis
Graft Rejection
Health Care Costs
Humans
Immunosuppressive Agents
Kidney
Kidney Transplantation
Medical Records
Medication Adherence
Quality of Life
Rejection (Psychology)
Retrospective Studies
Self Efficacy
Immunosuppressive Agents

Reference

References

1). Korean Network for Organ Sharing (KONOS). 2008 Annual Data Report [Internet]. Seoul: KONOS;2009. Available from:. http://www.konos.go.kr.
2). Evans RW, Manninen DL, Garrison LP Jr, Hart LG, Blagg CR, Gutman RA, et al. The quality of life of patients with end-stage renal disease. N Engl J Med. 1985; 312:553–9.
Article
3). Dupuis RE. Solid organ transplantation. Young LY, Koda-Kimble MA, editors. Applied therapeutics: the clinical use of drugs. 6th ed.Vancouver, Wash: Applied Therapeutics Inc.;1995. p. 1–17.
4). Vlaminck H, Maes B, Evers G, Verbeke G, Lerut E, van Damme B, et al. Prospective study on late consequences of subclinical noncompliance with immunosuppressive therapy in renal transplant patients. Am J Transplant. 2004; 4:1509–13.
Article
5). Schweizer RT, Rovelli M, Palmeri D, Vossler E, Hull D, Bartus S. Noncompliance in organ transplant recipients. Transplantation. 1990; 49:374–7.
Article
6). Ichimaru N, Kakuta Y, Abe T, Okumi M, Imamura R, Isaka Y, et al. Treatment adherence in renal transplant recipients: a questionnaire survey on immunosuppressants. Transplant Proc. 2008; 40:1362–5.
Article
7). Denhaerynck K, Dobbels F, Cleemput I, Desmyttere A, Schafer-Keller P, Schaub S, et al. Prevalence, consequences, and determinants of nonadherence in adult renal transplant patients: a literature review. Transpl Int. 2005; 18:1121–33.
Article
8). Murphy F. The role of the nurse postrenal transplantation. Br J Nurs. 2007; 16:667–75.
Article
9). Orr A, Orr D, Willis S, Holmes M, Britton P. Patient perceptions of factors influencing adherence to medication following kidney transplant. Psychol Health Med. 2007; 12:509–17.
Article
10). Pruna A, Fornairon S. European multicenter survey on noncompliance after solid organ transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2000; 32:393–5.
Article
11). Schafer-Keller P, Steiger J, Bock A, Denhaerynck K, de Geest S. Diagnostic accuracy of measurement methods to assess non-adherence to immunosuppressive drugs in kidney transplant recipients. Am J Transplant. 2008; 8:616–26.
Article
12). Takemoto SK, Pinsky BW, Schnitzler MA, Lentine KL, Willoughby LM, Burroughs TE, et al. A retrospective analysis of immunosuppression compliance, dose reduction and discontinuation in kidney transplant recipients. Am J Transplant. 2007; 7:2704–11.
Article
13). Vlasnik JJ, Aliotta SL, DeLor B. Medication adherence: factors influencing compliance with prescribed medication plans. Case Manager. 2005; 16:47–51.
Article
14). Lee SY, Lee JY, Kim KH, Hann HJ, Park KH, Lee BG, et al. Survey on comprehension and compliance of immunosuppressant medications in kidney transplant recipients. J Korean Soc Health Syst Pharm. 1998; 15:87–96. (이수영, 이주연, 김경희, 한현주, 박경호, 이병구, 등. 신장이식 환자들의 면역억제제 복약에 대한 이해도 및 이행도에 관한 조사. 병원약사회지 1998;15: 87–96.).
15). Chisholm MA, Lance CE, Williamson GM, Mulloy LL. Development and validation of the immunosuppressant therapy adherence instrument (ITAS). Patient Educ Couns. 2005; 59:13–20.
Article
16). Moons P, de Geest S, Abraham I, Cleemput JV, van Vanhaecke J. Symptom experience associated with maintenance immunosuppression after heart transplantation: patients' appraisal of side effects. Heart Lung. 1998; 27:315–25.
Article
17). Hahn SR, Park J, Skinner EP, Yu-Isenberg KS, Weaver MB, Crawford B, et al. Development of the ASK-20 adherence barrier survey. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008; 24:2127–38.
Article
18). Horne R, Weinman J, Hankins M. The Beliefs about medicines questionnaire: the development and evaluation of a new method for assessing the cognitive representation of medication. Psychol Health. 1999; 14:1–24.
Article
19). de Geest S, Abraham I, Gemoets H, Evers G. Development of the longterm medication behaviour self-efficacy scale: qualitative study for item development. J Adv Nurs. 1994; 19:233–8.
Article
20). Shin SC, Kim MK, Yun KS, Kim JH, Lee MS, Moon SJ, et al. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D): Its use in Korea-standardization and factor structure of CES-D. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 1991; 30:752–67. (신승철, 김만권, 윤관수, 김진학, 이명선, 문수재, 등. 한국에서의 the Center for epidemiological studies-depression scale (CES-D)의 사용. 신경정신의학회 1991;30: 752–67.).
21). Butler JA, Roderick P, Mullee M, Mason JC, Peveler RC. Frequency and impact of nonadherence to immunosuppressants after renal transplantation: a systematic review. Transplantation. 2004; 77:769–76.
Article
22). Colon EA, Popkin MK, Matas AJ, Callies AL. Overview of noncompliance in renal transplantation. Transplant Rev. 1991; 5:175–80.
23). Frazier PA, Davis-Ali SH, Dahl KE. Correlates of noncompliance among renal transplant recipients. Clin Transplant. 1994; 8:550–7.
24). Cukor D, Rosenthal DS, Jindal RM, Brown CD, Kimmel PL. Depression is an important contributor to low medication adherence in hemodialyzed patients and transplant recipients. Kidney Int. 2009; 75:1223–9.
Article
25). Gremigni P, Bacchi F, Turrini C, Cappelli G, Albertazzi A, Bitti PE. Psychological factors associated with medication adherence following renal transplantation. Clin Transplant. 2007; 21:710–5.
Article
26). Matza LS, Yu-Isenberg KS, Coyne KS, Park J, Wakefield J, Skinner EP, et al. Further testing of the reliability and validity of the ASK-20 adherence barrier questionnaire in a medical center outpatient population. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008; 24:3197–206.
Article
27). Phatak HM, Thomas J 3rd. Relationships between beliefs about medications and nonadherence to prescribed chronic medications. Ann Pharmacother. 2006; 40:1737–42.
Article
28). Achille MA, Ouellette A, Fournier S, Vachon M, Hebert MJ. Impact of stress, distress and feelings of indebtedness on adherence to immunosuppressants following kidney transplantation. Clin Transplant. 2006; 20:301–6.
Article
29). Gordon EJ, Gallant M, Sehgal AR, Conti D, Siminoff LA. Medication-taking among adult renal transplant recipients: barriers and strategies. Transpl Int. 2009; 22:534–45.
Article
30). Denhaerynck K, Steiger J, Bock A, Schafer-Keller P, Kofer S, Thannberger N, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of non-adherence with immunosuppressive medication in kidney transplant patients. Am J Transplant. 2007; 7:108–16.
Article
Full Text Links
  • JKSTN
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr