ObjectiveTo address knowledge gaps regarding burdens associated with not adequately controlled chronic hypoparathyroidism.DesignGlobal patient and caregiver survey.Study PopulationsPatients with chronic hypoparathyroidism not adequately controlled on conventional therapy and their caregivers.MeasurementsHealth‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and health status were evaluated using the 36‐item Short Form version 2 (SF‐36 v2.0) and Five‐Level EuroQoL 5 Dimensions (EQ‐5D‐5L) instruments, respectively. Hypoparathyroidism‐associated symptoms were assessed by a disease‐specific Hypoparathyroidism Symptom Diary and caregiver burden via the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI).ResultsData were obtained from 398 patients and 207 caregivers. Patients' self‐rated hypoparathyroidism‐related symptom severity was none (3%), mild (32%), moderate (53%) or severe (12%). Per the Hypoparathyroidism Symptom Diary, patients reported moderate, severe or very severe symptoms of physical fatigue (73%), muscle cramps (55%), heaviness in limbs (55%) and tingling (51%) over a 7‐day recall period. Impacts (rated ‘somewhat’ or ‘very much’) were reported by 84% of patients for ability to exercise, 78% for sleep, 75% for ability to work and 63% for family relationships. Inverse relationships were observed between patient self‐rated overall symptom severity and HRQoL and health status assessment scores—the greater the symptom severity, the lower the SF‐36 and EQ‐5D‐5L scores. Caregiver burden increased with patient self‐rated symptom severity: none, 1.7 MCSI; mild, 5.4 MCSI; moderate, 9.5 MCSI; and severe, 12.5 MCSI.ConclusionPatients with not adequately controlled hypoparathyroidism reported substantial symptoms and impacts. Greater patient symptom severity was associated with decreased patient HRQoL and health status assessments and increased caregiver burden.
Background Prescription rates for long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic formulations remain relatively low in Europe despite improved adherence over alternative oral antipsychotic treatments. This apparent under-prescription of LAI antipsychotics may have multiple contributing factors, including negative mental health practitioner attitudes towards the use of LAIs. Methods The Antipsychotic Long acTing injection in schizOphrenia (ALTO) non-interventional study (NIS), conducted across several European countries, utilised a questionnaire that was specifically designed to address physicians’ attitudes and beliefs towards the treatment of schizophrenia with LAI antipsychotics. Exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) of feedback from the questionnaire aimed to identify and characterize the factors that best explained the physicians’ attitudes towards prescription of LAIs. Results Overall, 136/234 solicited physicians returned fully completed questionnaires. Physicians’ mean age was 48.5 years, with mean psychiatric experience of 20.0 years; 69.9% were male, 84.6% held a consultant position, and 91.9% had a clinical specialty in general adult care. Most physicians considered themselves to have a high level of clinical experience with LAI antipsychotics (77.2%), with an increased rate of LAI antipsychotics prescription over the last 5 years (59.6%). Although the majority of physicians (69.9%) declared feeling no difference in stress levels when offering LAI compared to oral antipsychotics, feelings of ‘no/more stress’ versus ‘less stress’ was found to influence prescription patterns. PCA identified six factors which collectively explained 66.1% of the variance in physician feedback. Multivariate analysis identified a positive correlation between physicians willing to accept usage of LAI antipsychotics and the positive attitude of colleagues (co-efficient 3.67; p = 0.016). Conclusions The physician questionnaire in the ALTO study is the first to evaluate the attitudes around LAI antipsychotics across several European countries, on a larger scale. Findings from this study offer an important insight into how physician attitudes can influence the acceptance and usage of LAI antipsychotics to treat patients with schizophrenia.
Background/Aim: Sunitinib is the current standard of care for first-line (1L) treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Previous studies suggest that a modified treatment schedule may benefit patients. Our aim was to evaluate efficacy and safety regarding sunitinib treatment modification in 1L treatment of mRCC. Materials and Methods: Data were drawn from STAR-TOR, a German realworld registry to evaluate outcomes of patients with mRCC who received 1L sunitinib. Patients were divided into two groups: subsequent treatment modification (SM) or remaining on standard dose/schedule (SS). Time on treatment (TT), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were estimated. Results: Overall, 297 patients were analyzed; 33% underwent treatment modification. Significant baseline differences between groups were observed; SM patients were older and had a more favourable Karnofsky performance status. SM patients achieved better outcomes than SS patients for median TT (15.1 versus 3.9 months; p<0.0001), PFS (15.1 versus 6.0; p<0.0001), and OS (38.1 versus 13.7; p<0.0001). Diarrhoea (34%/17%), fatigue (30%/11%), handfoot syndrome (28%/10%), and stomatitis (20%/6%) were more frequently reported in SM versus SS; incidence was reduced following schedule/dose modification (except diarrhoea). Conclusion: In addition to AE mitigation, sunitinib treatment modification may help improve efficacy outcomes in mRCC by prolonging treatment duration.
IntroductionAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative form of dementia. Pharmacological therapies for symptomatic treatment, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) and memantine, have been available in the USA since 2000. Over the past decade, few studies have analyzed real-world anti-dementia treatment patterns in the USA. This study evaluated monotherapy AChEIs and memantine treatment patterns among newly diagnosed AD patients.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted using Medicare data and the Minimum Data Set from 2008 to 2012. Patients aged 65–100 years with newly diagnosed AD (ICD-9 code: 331.0) and monotherapy AChEI or memantine treatment initiated after diagnosis were included. Descriptive treatment pattern analyses, including discontinuation and switch, were undertaken. Kaplan–Meier curves were developed to examine the treatment duration.ResultsA total of 9812 newly diagnosed AD patients were identified, with 56.7% (n = 5567) first receiving anti-dementia treatment after the initial AD diagnosis. Among patients initiating monotherapy AChEIs or memantine after AD diagnosis (N = 5200), 51.6% continued index treatment during the entire follow-up period (mean follow-up: 659.7 days) and 21.7% discontinued treatment. Of those who initiated monotherapy treatment with an AChEI, 11.1% received adjunct therapy with memantine. Among patients with ≥1 year of continuous treatment (mean follow-up: 834 days), 75.6% remained on the index drug, 10.2% discontinued during the remaining follow-up period, and 9.5% of the AD patients initiating AChEIs received adjunct memantine therapy during the remaining follow-up period.ConclusionIn the USA Medicare population, about 50% of the patients who initiated treatment with AChEI or memantine after diagnosis continued the index treatment, and more than 20% discontinued and were untreated afterwards over the observation period. AD patients initiating AChEIs or memantine were more likely to remain on their treatment if they were persistently treated for the first year.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40120-017-0067-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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