medwireNews: Nonadherence to rheumatology medications during the COVID-19 pandemic is uncommon, researchers report.
Aida Malek Mahdavi and colleagues from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran found that among 858 rheumatology patients who took part in a telephone interview in July 2020, just 6.5% reported nonadherence to treatment, defined as a 20% or greater change in the dose or frequency of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), colchicine, glucocorticoids, conventional DMARDs, or biologics.
The study authors note in a correspondence to the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases that complete discontinuation was the most common pattern of treatment nonadherence, reported by 58.9% of the 56 participants with nonadherence, and the most common reason was fear of the immunosuppressive effects of medication, cited by 62.5%. In all, 9.6% of nonadherent patients experienced exacerbation of rheumatic disease symptoms, and 0.8% of the study population developed COVID-19.
“The data from this study showed that medication non-adherence was not common within 6 months after the issue of COVID-19 is widely discussed in the media,” say Mahdavi and team. However, they caution that the long-term impact of COVID-19 on medication adherence is not yet known.
medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2020 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group
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