Patient preferences and assessment of likely adherence to hepatitis C virus treatment

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http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123555331/abstract

Journal of Viral Hepatitis

Early View (Articles online in advance of print)

Published Online: 22 Jun 2010

© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Patient preferences and assessment of likely adherence to hepatitis C virus

treatment

A. Brett Hauber 1 , A. F. Mohamed 1 , C. Beam 2 , J. Medjedovic 3* and J.

Mauskopf 1

1 RTI International, RTP, NC ; 2 Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Rockville, MD,

USA ; and 3 Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland

Correspondence to A. Brett Hauber, RTI International, RTI Health Solutions, 3040

Cornwallis Drive, PO Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, USA.

E-mail: abhauber@...

*Worked for Novartis Pharma AG while the study was conducted.

Copyright © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

ABSTRACT

Summary. To estimate patient preferences for attributes of hepatitis C virus

(HCV) treatment and patients' assessment of the likely effect of treatment

attributes on treatment adherence, HCV patients ≥18 years old completed an

online survey that included nine 2-alternative choice questions. Each choice

question was defined by the probability of sustained viral response (Efficacy),

injection frequency (Frequency), duration of flu-like symptoms after every

injection (Flu), injection device (Device), average number of days of work

missed each week (Lost Work Days), probability of reversible hair thinning while

on treatment (Alopecia) and probability of developing clinical depression while

on treatment (Depression). We estimated a mean relative importance weight for

each attribute. Patients also answered three rating questions to assess the

extent to which treatment attributes might affect adherence. Hundred and fifty

patients completed the survey. Efficacy was the most important attribute with a

mean relative importance weight of 10 [95% CI: 7.9–12.1]. The remaining

attributes were ranked in order of importance as follows: Depression (4.4 [95%

CI: 3.6–5.1]), Flu Days (Frequency × Flu) (3.7 [95% CI: 2.2–5.3]), Lost

Work Days (2.9 [95% CI: 2.3–3.5]), Alopecia (1.3 [95% CI: 0.7–1.9]) and

Device (1.2 [95% CI: 0.4–2.0]). Patients with prior treatment experience were

less likely to indicate that treatment attributes would affect adherence.

Patients also indicated that increases in the number of flu days would increase

the likelihood of nonadherence to treatment. Sustained viral response is the

most important treatment attribute to patients but treatment side effects might

affect treatment adherence.

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Received February 2010; accepted for publication May 2010

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01343

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