A Survey of Drug Burden in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis in Japan

Medication burden in patients with dialysis-dependent CKD: a systematic review

This systematic review aimed to statistically profile the medication burden and associated influencing factors, and outcomes in patients with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (DD-CKD). Studies of medication burden in patients with DD-CKD in the last 10 years from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2024 were searched from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) or Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) methodology checklist was used to evaluate quality and bias. Data extraction and combining from multiple groups of number (n), mean, and standard deviation (SD) were performed using R programming language (version4.3.1; R Core Team, Vienna, Austria). A total of 10 studies were included, and the results showed a higher drug burden in patients with DD-CKD. The combined pill burden was 14.57 ± 7.56 per day in hemodialysis (HD) patients and 14.63 ± 6.32 in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The combined number of medications was 9.74 ± 3.37 in HD and 8 ± 3 in PD. Four studies described the various drug classes and their proportions, in general, antihypertensives and phosphate binders were the most commonly used drugs. Five studies mentioned factors associated with medication burden. A total of five studies mentioned medication burden-related outcomes, with one study finding that medication-related burden was associated with increased treatment burden, three studies finding that poor medication adherence was associated with medication burden, and another study finding that medication complexity was not associated with self-reported medication adherence. Limitations: meta-analysis was not possible due to the heterogeneity of studies.

Long-term safety and decrease of pill burden by tenapanor therapy: a phase 3 open-label study in hemodialysis patients with hyperphosphatemia

Phosphate binders (PBs) generally have a high pill burden. Tenapanor selectively inhibits sodium/hydrogen exchanger isoform 3, reducing intestinal phosphate absorption. Tenapanor is a novel drug administered as a small tablet, twice daily. This multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase 3 study aimed to evaluate the long-term safety of tenapanor and its efficacy in decreasing PB pill burden. Tenapanor 5 mg twice daily was administered to hemodialysis patients with serum phosphorus level 3.5-7.0 mg/dl at baseline; the dose could be increased up to 30 mg twice daily. Patients could also switch from PBs. The primary endpoint was safety during 52-week administration. The key secondary endpoint was a ≥ 30% reduction in the total pill number of daily PBs and tenapanor from baseline. Of 212 patients starting treatment, 154 completed the study. Diarrhea was the most frequent adverse event, occurring in 135 patients (63.7%); most events were classified as mild (74.8%). No clinically significant changes occurred other than serum phosphorus level. At Week 52/discontinuation, 158/204 patients (77.5%) achieved the key secondary endpoint. Complete switching from PBs to tenapanor was achieved in 50-76 patients (26.7%-41.5%), and 80 patients (51.9%) at Week 8-12 and Week 50, respectively. Serum phosphorus remained generally stable within the target range (3.5-6.0 mg/dl). These findings suggest the long-term safety and tolerability of tenapanor. Tenapanor could reduce or eliminate PB pill burden while controlling serum phosphorus levels.Trial registration: NCT04771780.

Association between phosphate binder pill burden and mortality risk in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: a single-center cohort study with 7-year follow-up of 513 patients

BACKGROUND

Dialysis patients often take multiple oral medications, leading to a high pill burden. Phosphate binders (PBs) account for a large proportion of this daily pill burden (DPB). The relationship between DPB and mortality risk remains unclear, and we hypothesized that this relationship might be influenced by the proportion of PBs to all medications.

METHODS

We divided DPB into those derived from PBs and non-PB drugs and analyzed the association with mortality risk over a 7-year period in 513 chronic hemodialysis patients using a baseline model.

RESULTS

The median (interquartile range) DPB from all drugs was 15.8 (11.2-21.0) pills/day/patient, and the median ratio of PB pills to all drug pills was 29.3 (13.7-45.9)% at baseline. During a median observation period of 5.2 years, 161 patients (31.4%) died. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed no significant difference in all-cause mortality between PB users and non-users. However, a significant survival advantage was observed in the highest tertile of DPB from PBs compared to the lowest tertile. Conversely, the highest tertile of DPB from non-PB drugs was associated with worse survival. Consequently, the highest tertile of the ratio of PBs to all pills was associated with better survival. This association remained significant even after adjusting for patient characteristics in the Cox proportional hazards model. However, when serum nutritional parameters were included as covariates, the significant association disappeared.

CONCLUSIONS

Dialysis patients prescribed a higher rate of PB pills to all medications exhibited a lower mortality risk, possibly due to their better nutritional status.

A Questionnaire Survey of Prescription Preferences and Leftover Medication Conversations: Comparisons Among Kidney Disease Patients and Healthcare Professionals

BACKGROUND

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and patients with kidney failure receiving hemodialysis (HD) receive various types of medications. However, little is known about the differences in medication preference and how to deal with leftover medication among CKD patients and HD patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in medication preference and ways of dealing with leftover medication between CKD patients, HD patients, physicians, and pharmacists via a questionnaire survey.

METHODS

The ethics committee of Oita University, Oita, Japan, approved this survey. Outpatients undergoing treatment by a nephrologist in four facilities in Oita prefecture, Japan, were asked to answer a questionnaire on their preference for medication and how to deal with leftover medication. Respondents gave their informed written consent. The same questionnaire was administered to nephrologists and pharmacists online.

RESULTS

In this survey, 383 patients (260 patients with CKD and 123 patients with HD), 22 nephrologists, and 28 pharmacists responded. The response rate of valid responses was more than 90% for each of the groups. In particular, 41% of patients with CKD and 56% of patients with HD never inform their doctor about leftover medication or only inform them when there is a lot of leftover medication. On the other hand, 23% of physicians have never asked their patients about them. Ordinary logistic regression analysis indicated that there is no significant relationship between how often patients talk about leftover medication, patients' preferences, or patient states.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the age and state of the patients, it is important to discuss the perception of medication with each other and confirm the condition of the remaining medication to improve concordance and obtain the desired treatment effect.

Mediation effect of self-neglect in family resilience and medication adherence in older patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis

OBJECTIVES

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with regular dialysis treatment for more than 3 months are called maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). The degree of patients' adherence with the doctor's advice to take medicine on time is called medication adherence, which is very important for the control of the disease and the improvement of the quality of life for MHD patients. Living alone, lack of communication with children and self-neglect are risk factors for medication adherence in the older adults. Inappropriate substance use behaviors are common among older adults with self-neglect. Family resilience denotes the ability of a family to retain the stability of its structure by relying on its internal and external resources when facing a difficult situation. Family resilience entails the combination of family beliefs, interaction styles, problem-solving skills, and emotional communication which reflect supportive and positive psychological adjustment effects to benefit older persons. This study aims to provide a theoretical basis for clinical intervention level to improve medication adherence of older patients on MHD through examineing the correlation among family resilience, self-neglect, and medication adherence based on the self-reports.

METHODS

A random sampling method was used to gather information from 632 older patients receiving MHD treatment in Hemodialysis Center of Hunan Province between July to December 2021. For this purpose, a self-designed demographic questionnaire, the Family Resilience Questionnaire (FRQ), the Scale of the Elderly Self-Neglect (SESN), and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-4 (MMAS-4) were used to investigate the questionnaire data of the participants. Pearson correlation was used to examine the relationship between family resilience, self-neglect, and medication adherence in older patients and gain insight into their current status. AMOS 24.0 was used for mediation modeling. Bootstrap mediation effect test was used to evaluate the mediation effect among the 3 variables.

RESULTS

The questionnaires survey showed that the scores of FRQ, SESN, and MMAS-4 were 78.60±12.49, 7.99±5.60, and 5.93±1.40, respectively; and the medication adherence rate was 18.8%. Pearson correlation analysis showed that family resilience was negatively correlated with self-neglect (r=-0.432, P<0.001), and was positively correlated with medication adherence (r=0.169, P<0.001). Self-neglect was negatively correlated with medication adherence (r=-0.217, P<0.001). Mediating effect analysis showed that the total effect of family resilience on medication adherence was significant (β=0.214, 95% CI 0.121 to 0.313, P<0.001), and the direct effect was not significant (β=0.058, 95% CI -0.073 to 0.187, P>0.05). Self-neglect played a major mediating effect between family resilience and medication adherence (β=0.156, 95% CI 0.088 to 0.240, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Family resilience, self-neglect, and medication adherence among older patients on MHD are significantly related, with family resilience primarily influencing medication adherence indirectly through self-neglect.

Impact of phosphate binders on medication dosing frequency, timing, and number of prescribed pills in hemodialysis patients

INTRODUCTION

Phosphate binders (PBs) account for a large proportion of the daily pill burden in hemodialysis patients. However, patients do not take them all at once but at several dosing timings.

METHODS

We analyzed the dosing timings of all 322 types of oral drugs prescribed to 533 hemodialysis patients.

RESULTS

The median daily dosing frequency for all drugs was 6 (4-7) times/day/patient. Patients prescribed PBs had a markedly higher daily dosing frequency than those not taking PBs [7 (5-8) times /day/patient versus 4 (3-5) times/day/patient, respectively (P<0.001)]. In addition, the ratio of the number of PB pills to other drugs varied greatly at each dosing timing. Furthermore, it was simulated that the daily dosing frequency could be reduced by approximately two times/day/patient by combining the dosing timings of PBs.

CONCLUSION

Changing PB dosing timings can reduce the daily dosing frequency, which may lead to improved medication adherence.

Assessment of Dietary Folate Intake and Pill Burden among Saudi Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

The aim of this study was to assess the adequacy of dietary folate intake and perceptions of pill burden among Saudi patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). This was a cross-sectional study of adults (>18 years) on MHD (>3 months) attending the dialysis unit at King Saud University Medical City. Patient demographics, dietary folic acid intake, and perceptions of pill burden were collected. Fifty-four patients met the eligibility criteria, with a mean age of 57 ± 15.5 years. The majority were females (63%), and the most prevalent comorbidities were diabetes (43%) and hypertension (76%). The average number of medications/patients was 11 ± 2.9, and most patients were receiving folate supplementation (68.5%). The average dietary folate intake was 823 ± 530 mcg/day. Pill burden was bothersome, primarily due to taking too many medications (57%) while taking medications at the workplace was the least bothersome burden (17%). The reported high pill burden and adequate dietary folate intake by Saudi patients on MHD indicates that the omission of folate supplementation may be advantageous for this special population.

Impact of Polypharmacy on Health-Related Quality of Life in Dialysis Patients

INTRODUCTION

Dialysis patients are often prescribed a large number of medications to improve metabolic control and manage coexisting comorbidities. However, some studies suggest that a large number of medications could also detrimentally affect patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Therefore, this study aims to provide insight in the association between the number of types of medications and HRQoL in dialysis patients.

METHODS

A multicentre cohort study was conducted among dialysis patients from Dutch dialysis centres 3 months after initiation of dialysis as part of the ongoing prospective DOMESTICO study. The number of types of medications, defined as the number of concomitantly prescribed types of drugs, was obtained from electronic patient records. Primary outcome was HRQoL measured with the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score and Mental Component Summary (MCS) score (range 0-100) of the Short Form 12. Secondary outcomes were number of symptoms (range 0-30) measured with the Dialysis Symptoms Index and self-rated health (range 0-100) measured with the EuroQol-5D-5L. Data were analysed using linear regression and adjusted for possible confounders, including comorbidity. Analyses for MCS and number of symptoms were performed after categorizing patients in tertiles according to their number of medications because assumptions of linearity were violated for these outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 162 patients were included. Mean age of patients was 58 ± 17 years, 35% were female, and 80% underwent haemodialysis. The mean number of medications was 12.2 ± 4.5. Mean PCS and MCS were 36.6 ± 10.2 and 46.8 ± 10.0, respectively. The mean number of symptoms was 12.3 ± 6.9 and the mean self-rated health 60.1 ± 20.6. In adjusted analyses, PCS was 0.6 point lower for each additional medication (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: -0.9 to -0.2; p = 0.002). MCS was 4.9 point lower (95% CI: -8.8 to -1.0; p = 0.01) and 1.0 point lower (95% CI: -5.1-3.1; p = 0.63) for the highest and middle tertiles of medications, respectively, than for the lowest tertile. Patients in the highest tertile of medications reported 4.1 more symptoms than in the lowest tertile (95% CI: 1.5-6.6; p = 0.002), but no significant difference in the number of symptoms was observed between the middle and lowest tertiles. Self-rated health was 1.5 point lower for each medication (95% CI: -2.2 to -0.7; p < 0.001).

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

After adjustment for comorbidity and other confounders, a higher number of medications were associated with a lower PCS, MCS, and self-rated health in dialysis patients and with more symptoms.

Prescription characteristics of phosphate binders in a high pill burden for hemodialysis patients

Background

Dialysis patients have to take many oral drugs, causing a high pill burden. Phosphate binders (PBs) account for a large proportion of daily pill burden; however, the relationship between patient background and prescription status of PBs is not clear.

Methods

We clarified the characteristics of PBs in the total daily pill burden by analyzing the drugs prescribed for 533 chronic hemodialysis patients in our facility.

Results

An average of nine different types of oral drugs was prescribed for each patient. The mean and median values of total pill burden were 15.1 and 14.1 pills/day/patient, respectively. The total pill burden showed a significant negative correlation with age and a significant positive correlation with dialysis vintage. In addition, the total pill burden was significantly higher in males than in females. However, there was no difference in the pill burden between patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). PBs were prescribed to 409 patients (76.7%), and the mean pill burden derived from PBs was 6.44 pills/day/patient. This was by far the highest of all 35 different drug categories and accounted for 32.84% of all pills. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that independent predictors of total pill burden were age, dialysis vintage, DM, and serum phosphorus (P) levels, and all these variables, except DM, were also independent predictors of pill burden from PBs. These variables were also selected when considering the use of calcimimetics.

Conclusions

A high pill burden is more likely to occur in younger patients with longer dialysis vintage, DM, higher serum P levels, and prescription of calcimimetics. In addition, PB was the single largest contributor to the total pill burden that positively and linearly linked to serum P levels. Therefore, P management is a high-priority issue in the mitigation of high pill burdens in dialysis patients.

An Analysis of Medication Adherence and Patient Preference in Long-term Stable Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients in Japan

Objective This follow-up survey report describes medication adherence and patient preferences, beliefs, and expectations of maintenance hemodialysis treatment in Japan. Methods This patient-reported questionnaire-based survey was conducted in six regions in Japan from September 2016 to November 2016. Patients The questionnaire was provided to 700 patients (50-79 years old) on maintenance hemodialysis for >3 years who were members of the Japan Association of Kidney Disease Patients. Patients were randomly selected by a stratified sampling method based on patient distribution observed from the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Renal Data Registry. Results A total of 524 (74.9%) complete patient questionnaires were evaluated; the mean (SD) age was 66.6 (7.2) years (men, 63.4%) with a dialysis vintage of 16.9 (9.1) years. Adherence was high for all types of medications: between 76.7% for phosphate binders and 95.7% for antidiabetic medications. The most common reason for a missed dose was forgetting to take medication [52.5% (117/223)]. Patient preference for oral medication was as low as 0.9% (1/110), 9% (31/345), and 2.9% (2/69) for patients who felt mental burden, felt no mental burden, and neither, respectively, with their current treatment regimen. In addition, 37.8% (198/524) of patients responded that the elimination of 1 medication (1 tablet) would reduce their mental burden. Conclusion The results of this survey show that overall medication adherence is high in Japanese patients on maintenance hemodialysis. While many patients perceive an absence of mental burden, they still prefer to avoid oral medication when possible.