ABSTRACT Adherence to
imatinib mesylate improves clinical outcomes and promotes a reduction in
health expenditure. However,
treatment duration and lack of
efficacy decrease adherence to
pharmacotherapy, resulting in increased
mortality associated with
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. This study aimed to evaluate and compare adherence and/or discontinuation of
imatinib mesylate in different studies from the
literature. An integrative
review of original articles published between the years of 2004 and 2014 was performed using the databases
PubMed/
MEDLINE, Scopus and SciELO. The
descriptor "
imatinib" was used in two combinations employing the connector AND between terms "
medication adherence'' AND ''
imatinib" AND "
leukemia'' and ''
patient compliance'' AND "
imatinib" AND "
leukemia". We identified 476 studies, being 14 included in the study. The rates of adherence and discontinuation were diverse, ranging from 19.0 to 97.0% and from 1.8 and 41.0%, respectively, and a high number of
longitudinal studies was observed (71.4%). Most studies used
questionnaires as an indirect
method to assess adherence and factors related to poor adherence were
adverse drug reactions,
dose changes and unavailability of the medication.
Patient education associated with follow up by
pharmacists and other
health professionals can improve
patient adherence and minimize the
pharmacotherapy discontinuation.