Differences in medication adherence by sex and organ type among adolescent and young adult solid organ transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Identification of differences in medication adherence by sex or organ type may help in planning interventions to optimize outcomes. We compared immunosuppressive medication adherence between males and females, and between kidney, liver and heart transplant recipients. METHODS: This multicenter study of prevalent kidney, liver and heart transplant recipients 14-25 years assessed adherence 3 times (0, 3, 6 months post-enrollment) with the BAASIS self-report tool. At each visit, participants were classified as adherent if they missed no doses in the prior 4 weeks and non-adherent otherwise. Adherence was also assessed using the coefficient of variation (CV) of tacrolimus trough levels; CV < 30% was classified as adherent. We used multivariable mixed effects logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders to compare adherence by sex and by organ. RESULTS: Across all visits, males (n = 150, median age 20.4 years, IQR 17.2-23.3) had lower odds of self-reported adherence than females (n = 120, median age 19.8 years, IQR 17.1-22.7) (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.21-0.80) but higher odds of adherence by tacrolimus CV (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.30-4.82). No significant differences in adherence (by self-report or tacrolimus CV) were noted between the 184 kidney, 58 liver, and 28 heart recipients. CONCLUSION: Females show better self-reported adherence than males but greater variability in tacrolimus levels. Social desirability bias, more common in females than males, may contribute to better self-reported adherence among females. Higher tacrolimus variability among females may reflect biologic differences in tacrolimus metabolism between males and females rather than sex differences in adherence. There were no significant differences in adherence by organ type.

Differences in medication adherence between preemptive and post-dialysis young kidney transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms underlying the superior graft survival associated with preemptive kidney transplantation, compared with transplantation following a period of dialysis, are unknown. We aimed to compare medication adherence between preemptively transplanted young kidney transplant recipients and those who received a transplant after an interval of dialysis. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of the Teen Adherence in Kidney transplant Effectiveness of Intervention Trial (TAKE-IT), in which adherence was assessed with electronic monitoring over 15 months among 11-24-year-old transplant recipients. Adherence scores were calculated for each day as 0%, 50%, or 100% (intake of none, half, or all prescribed doses). We used ordinal logistic regression, with generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures within each participant, to estimate the association between preemptive transplantation and adherence. The model was adjusted for sex, age at transplant, time since transplant, primary kidney disease, race, donor source, medication insurer, household income, and adherence intervention. RESULTS: There were 43 preemptive transplant recipients and 103 who had been treated with dialysis. The median adherence score was 85.1% (IQR 81.3-88.9) for those preemptively transplanted, and 80.0% (IQR 76.7-83.4) for those transplanted after dialysis. Preemptively transplanted recipients had significantly higher odds of adherence than those dialyzed before transplantation (adjusted OR 1.76 95% CI 1.21-2.55; p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Preemptively transplanted patients showed significantly better adherence than those treated with dialysis before transplantation. This suggests that the superior outcomes observed among preemptive kidney transplant recipients may reflect selection of patients more likely to adhere to therapy. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

The effect of patent ductus arteriosus on coronary artery blood flow in premature infants: a prospective observational pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare coronary flows between premature infants with and without hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) and to determine if coronary flow is influenced by medical PDA treatment. DESIGN: Prospective, observational pilot study. Forty-three infants <32 weeks gestation underwent echocardiography when routinely indicated. Study group included infants with hsPDA requiring treatment. Comparison groups included infants with nonsignificant PDA and infants without PDA. RESULTS: The study group (n = 13), compared with the comparison groups with nonsignificant PDA (n = 12) and without PDA (n = 18) had higher troponin levels (p = 0.003 and 0.004, respectively). In infants with hsPDA compared with infants with no PDA there was a significant increase in myocardial oxygen demand and decrease in left main coronary artery flow, with nonsignificant increase in cardiac output. CONCLUSIONS: Decrease in coronary artery flows and higher troponin values may suggest a "steal effect," not allowing to meet the elevated myocardial oxygen demand in infants with hsPDA.

Inhaled corticosteroids in transient tachypnea of the newborn: A randomized, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal corticosteroids were shown to reduce the respiratory complication in late preterm infants. Our objective was to determine if early inhaled corticosteroids could alleviate the respiratory distress and morbidity in late preterm and term neonates with transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN). STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled, multicenter pilot study. Infants born at >34 weeks gestational age with TTN at 4 h of age were randomized to two doses, 12 h apart, of inhaled Budesonide 1000 µg/dose or placebo within 6 h from delivery. Analysis was done by intention to treat. RESULTS: The study (n = 24) and control (n = 25) groups were comparable in birth characteristics (gestational age: 36.8 ± 1.9 vs 36.4 ± 1.8 weeks) and clinical condition at the time of recruitment (vital signs, clinical score, ventilation support, and blood gases). There was no difference between the study and control groups in clinical score (based on grunting, retractions, ala nasi, and respiratory rate) at recruitment and at 12, 24, and 48 h after the first inhalation (4.3 ± 1.6 vs 4.1 ± 2.1; 1.9 ± 1.8 vs 1.5 ± 1.7; 1.1 ± 1.4 vs 1.3 ± 1.6; 0.5 ± 0.8 vs 0.6 ± 1.0; respectively). Respiratory support at each time point, time to spontaneous unsupported breathing (67.4 ± 74.1 vs 75.2 ± 95.2 h), time to full feeds (86.7 ± 68.7 vs 84.3 ± 66.6 h) and length of stay (9.9 ± 5.5 vs 12.4 ± 8.0 days) did not differ between the groups. We did not detect any side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study was unable to detect a beneficial effect of early administration of inhaled steroids on the clinical course of TTN in late preterm and term infants.