OBJECTIVE: To determine if choice of drug and ease of administration affect persistence of therapy with cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) for treatment of dementia. METHODS: An observational administrative health database study was conducted in 5622 patients aged >or=65 years who received a new prescription for donepezil (DON), rivastigmine (RIV) or galantamine (GAL) from February to May 2006. Patients were followed for 1 year from initiation of therapy to determine percentage persistence and days of therapy. Once-daily galantamine extended release (GAL-ER) was compared with twice-daily galantamine immediate release (GAL-IR) to determine if ease of administration affected persistence. Previous treatment with ChEIs was also documented. RESULTS: One-year persistence rates were significantly different among the ChEIs: GAL-ER 54% (95% CI 51, 57), DON 46% (95% CI 43, 49) and RIV 40% (95% CI 37, 43). Average days of therapy were greater for GAL-ER (293) than for RIV (272), but there were no differences between DON (287) and GAL-ER or DON and RIV. One-year persistence was significantly greater for GAL-ER 54% (95% CI 48, 59) than for GAL-IR 44% (95% CI 39, 50), although there was no significant difference in days of therapy (293 vs 286, respectively). More patients currently treated with RIV (40.5%) or GAL-ER (32.3%) had received previous treatment with a different ChEI than with DON (21.9%). CONCLUSION: Among possible factors affecting persistence of ChEI therapy for dementia, choice of drug, ease of administration and previous treatment appear to be important.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if choice of drug and ease of administration affect persistence of therapy with cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) for treatment of dementia. METHODS: An observational administrative health database study was conducted in 5622 patients aged >or=65 years who received a new prescription for donepezil (DON), rivastigmine (RIV) or galantamine (GAL) from February to May 2006. Patients were followed for 1 year from initiation of therapy to determine percentage persistence and days of therapy. Once-daily galantamine extended release (GAL-ER) was compared with twice-daily galantamine immediate release (GAL-IR) to determine if ease of administration affected persistence. Previous treatment with ChEIs was also documented. RESULTS: One-year persistence rates were significantly different among the ChEIs: GAL-ER 54% (95% CI 51, 57), DON 46% (95% CI 43, 49) and RIV 40% (95% CI 37, 43). Average days of therapy were greater for GAL-ER (293) than for RIV (272), but there were no differences between DON (287) and GAL-ER or DON and RIV. One-year persistence was significantly greater for GAL-ER 54% (95% CI 48, 59) than for GAL-IR 44% (95% CI 39, 50), although there was no significant difference in days of therapy (293 vs 286, respectively). More patients currently treated with RIV (40.5%) or GAL-ER (32.3%) had received previous treatment with a different ChEI than with DON (21.9%). CONCLUSION: Among possible factors affecting persistence of ChEI therapy for dementia, choice of drug, ease of administration and previous treatment appear to be important.
Authors: C Courtney; D Farrell; R Gray; R Hills; L Lynch; E Sellwood; S Edwards; W Hardyman; J Raftery; P Crome; C Lendon; H Shaw; P Bentham Journal: Lancet Date: 2004-06-26 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Nathan Herrmann; Sudeep S Gill; Chaim M Bell; Geoffrey M Anderson; Susan E Bronskill; Kenneth I Shulman; Hadas D Fischer; Kathy Sykora; Haijiang Steven Shi; Paula A Rochon Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2007-08-14 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: Zheng Kang Lum; Ma Serrie P Suministrado; N Venketasubramanian; M Kamran Ikram; Christopher Chen Journal: Singapore Med J Date: 2018-06-22 Impact factor: 1.858