• Fahad H Alahmadi, Andrew J Simpson, Cristina Gomez, Magnus Ericsson, John-Olof Thörngren, Craig E Wheelock, Dominic E Shaw, Louise J Fleming, Graham Roberts, John Riley, Stewart Bates, Ana R Sousa, Richard Knowles, Aruna T Bansal, Julie Corfield, Ioannis Pandis, Kai Sun, Per S Bakke, Massimo Caruso, Pascal Chanez, Barbro Dahlén, Ildiko Horvath, Norbert Krug, Paolo Montuschi, Florian Singer, Scott Wagers, Ian M Adcock, Ratko Djukanovic, Kian Fan Chung, Peter J Sterk, Sven-Erik Dahlen, Stephen J Fowler, and U-BIOPRED Study Group.
• Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England; Respiratory Therapy Department, College of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
• Chest. 2021 Jul 1; 160 (1): 53-64.

BackgroundAlthough estimates of suboptimal adherence to oral corticosteroids in asthma range from 30% to 50%, no ideal method for measurement exists; the impact of poor adherence in severe asthma is likely to be particularly high.Research QuestionsWhat is the prevalence of suboptimal adherence detected by self-reporting and direct measures? Is suboptimal adherence associated with disease activity?Study Design And MethodsData were included from individuals with severe asthma taking part in the U-BIOPRED (Unbiased Biomarkers for the Prediction of Respiratory Disease Outcomes) study and prescribed daily oral corticosteroids. Participants completed the Medication Adherence Report Scale, a five-item questionnaire used to grade adherence on a scale from 1 to 5, and provided a urine sample for analysis of prednisolone and metabolites by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.ResultsData from 166 participants were included in this study: mean (SD) age, 54.2 (± 11.9) years; FEV1, 65.1% (± 20.5%) predicted; female, 58%; 37% completing the Medication Adherence Report Scale reported suboptimal adherence; and 43% with urinary corticosteroid data did not have detectable prednisolone or metabolites in their urine. Good adherence by both methods was detected in 49 of the 142 (35%) of participants in whom both methods were performed; adherence detection did not match between methods in 53%. Self-reported high adherers had better asthma control and quality of life, whereas directly measured high adherers had lower blood eosinophil levels.InterpretationLow adherence is a common problem in severe asthma, whether measured directly or self-reported. We report poor agreement between the two methods, suggesting some disassociation between self-assessment of medication adherence and regular oral corticosteroid use, which suggests that each approach may provide complementary information in clinical practice.Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

3 keywords...

hide…