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- Granger, B. B., et al.
(författare)
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Adherence to candesartan and placebo and outcomes in chronic heart failure in the CHARM programme: double-blind, randomised, controlled clinical trial
- 2005
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Ingår i: Lancet. - 1474-547X. ; 366:9502, s. 2005-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is an important cause of hospital admission and death. Poor adherence to medication is common in some chronic illnesses and might reduce the population effectiveness of proven treatments. Because little is known about adherence in patients with CHF and about the consequences of non-adherence, we assessed the association between adherence and clinical outcome in the CHARM (Candesartan in Heart failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity) programme. METHODS: CHARM was a double-blind, randomised, controlled clinical trial, comparing the effects of the angiotensin receptor blocker candesartan with placebo in 7599 patients with CHF. Median follow-up was 38 months. The proportion of time patients took more than 80% of their study medication was defined as good adherence and 80% or less as poor adherence. We used a Cox proportional hazards regression model, with adherence as a time-dependent covariate in the model, to examine the association between adherence and mortality in the candesartan and placebo groups. FINDINGS: We excluded 187 patients because of missing information on adherence. In the time-dependent Cox regression model, after adjustment for predictive factors (demographics, physiological and severity-of-illness variables, smoking history, and number of concomitant medications), good adherence was associated with lower all-cause mortality in all patients (hazard ratio [HR] 0.65, 95% CI 0.57-0.75, p<0.0001). The adjusted HR for good adherence was similar in the candesartan (0.66, 0.55-0.81, p<0.0001) and placebo (0.64, 0.53-0.78, p<0.0001) groups. INTERPRETATION: Good adherence to medication is associated with a lower risk of death than poor adherence in patients with CHF, irrespective of assigned treatment. This finding suggests that adherence is a marker for adherence to effective treatments other than study medications, or to other adherence behaviours that affect outcome. Understanding these factors could provide an opportunity for new interventions, including those aimed at improving adherence.
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| 2. |
- Granger, B. B., et al.
(författare)
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Adherence to medication according to sex and age in the CHARM programme
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Heart Failure. - 1879-0844. ; 11:11, s. 1092-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Although many patients with heart failure have incomplete adherence to prescribed medications, predisposing factors remain unclear. This analysis investigates factors associated with adherence, with particular emphasis on age and sex. METHODS AND RESULTS: A multivariable regression analysis of 7599 heart failure patients from the CHARM trial was done to evaluate factors associated with adherence. Adherence was measured as the proportion of time patients took more than 80% of study medication. The mean age was 66 years (SD 11) and 31.5% (n = 2400) were women. Women were slightly less adherent than men (87.3 vs. 89.8%, P = 0.002), even in adjusted, multivariable models (treatment, P = 0.006; placebo P = 0.004; and overall P < 0.001). However, all-cause mortality was lower in women (21.5%) than in men (25.3%) (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.69-0.86; P < 0.001), but patients with a low adherence regardless of sex had a higher mortality. Age, severity of heart failure, number of medications, and smoking status were not associated with adherence. CONCLUSION: Women, particularly those <75 years of age, were less likely to be adherent in this large sample of patients with symptomatic heart failure. Understanding factors associated with adherence may provide opportunities for intervention.
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| 5. |
- Sobocki, P, et al.
(författare)
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Resource use and costs associated with patients treated for depression in primary care.
- 2006
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Ingår i: The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1618-7598.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated medical resource consumption, productivity loss and costs associated with patients treated with antidepressants for depression in primary care in Sweden. Patients on treatment for depression were followed naturalistically for six months, and data on patients' characteristics, daily activity and resource-use were collected. The total cost per patient was estimated at 5,500 (95%CI 5,000-6,100) over six months in 2005 prices. Direct costs were estimated at 1,900 ( 1,700-2,200), 35% of total costs, and indirect costs at 3,600 ( 3,100-4,100), 65% of total costs. The cost for antidepressants represented only 4% of the total costs. We conclude that the burden of depression is high, both to the individual as well as to wider society, and there seems to be a particular need for therapies that have the potential to improve productivity in depressed patients.
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| 7. |
- Bill-Axelson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Radical prostatectomy versus watchful waiting in localized prostate cancer : the Scandinavian prostate cancer group-4 randomized trial
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press. - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 100:16, s. 1144-1154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The benefit of radical prostatectomy in patients with early prostate cancer has been assessed in only one randomized trial. In 2005, we reported that radical prostatectomy improved prostate cancer survival compared with watchful waiting after a median of 8.2 years of follow-up. We now report results after 3 more years of follow-up.METHODS: From October 1, 1989, through February 28, 1999, 695 men with clinically localized prostate cancer were randomly assigned to radical prostatectomy (n = 347) or watchful waiting (n = 348). Follow-up was complete through December 31, 2006, with histopathologic review and blinded evaluation of causes of death. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Statistical tests were two-sided.RESULTS: During a median of 10.8 years of follow-up (range = 3 weeks to 17.2 years), 137 men in the surgery group and 156 in the watchful waiting group died (P = .09). For 47 of the 347 men (13.5%) who were randomly assigned to surgery and 68 of the 348 men (19.5%) who were not, death was due to prostate cancer. The difference in cumulative incidence of death due to prostate cancer remained stable after about 10 years of follow-up. At 12 years, 12.5% of the surgery group and 17.9% of the watchful waiting group had died of prostate cancer (difference = 5.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.2 to 11.1%), for a relative risk of 0.65 (95% CI = 0.45 to 0.94; P = .03). The difference in cumulative incidence of distant metastases did not increase beyond 10 years of follow-up. At 12 years, 19.3% of men in the surgery group and 26% of men in the watchful waiting group had been diagnosed with distant metastases (difference = 6.7%, 95% CI = 0.2 to 13.2%), for a relative risk of 0.65 (95% CI = 0.47 to 0.88; P = .006). Among men who underwent radical prostatectomy, those with extracapsular tumor growth had 14 times the risk of prostate cancer death as those without it (RR = 14.2, 95% CI = 3.3 to 61.8; P < .001).CONCLUSION: Radical prostatectomy reduces prostate cancer mortality and risk of metastases with little or no further increase in benefit 10 or more years after surgery.
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| 8. |
- Ekman, Inger, 1952, et al.
(författare)
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Standard medication information is not enough : poor concordance of patient and nurse perceptions
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Advanced Nursing. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0309-2402 .- 1365-2648. ; 60:2, s. 181-186
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM:This paper is a report of a study to describe patient and nurse perceptions of patient satisfaction with information about the medicines at two heart failure clinics after medication up-titration and information-giving.BACKGROUND:Chronic heart failure is a major cause of hospitalization. Poor adherence to medications increases mortality and heart failure-related hospitalizations. To achieve mutual goal-setting (concordance) regarding medication-taking behaviours, health providers need to understand patient information needs regarding the prescribed medicines.METHODS:A convenience sample of 56 patients with chronic heart failure referred for an up-titration of medicines and information-giving about the condition and treatment completed the Satisfaction about Information about Medicines Scale at their first and last visits. Nurses completed the same questionnaire after each patient's final visit, assessing the patient's need for further information. The data were collected between 2002 and 2004.RESULTS:Patient scores indicated statistically significantly more satisfaction with their information at the final visit compared with the first visit (P = 0.005). However, at the programme conclusion, nurses (n = 7) rated patients to be appropriately informed while patients reported a persistent need for further information (P = 0.011).CONCLUSION:Further research should evaluate more advanced pedagogical strategies such as how to address patients' expectations about the effect of medicines when actual effects of the treatment are related to mortality and morbidity at the population level and may not result directly in symptom relief at an individual level.
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| 9. |
- Falk, Kristin, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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Breaking the vicious circle of fatigue in patients with chronic heart failure
- 2007
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Ingår i: Qualitative health research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1049-7323 .- 1552-7557. ; 17:8, s. 1020-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fatigue is a common symptom in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Characteristics of the experience and consequences of fatigue might be unique in these patients. The authors interviewed 15 patients with CHF and analyzed focused online observations of the content discussed in an Internet patient discussion group concerning CHF using grounded theory. The results suggest that fatigue is a circular process in which the consequences of fatigue further exaggerate the experience. However, fatigue could be alleviated by restorative activities. The bodily experience of fatigue was defined as lacking strength and energy and feeling sleepy. Patients reported the mental aspects of fatigue as demoralizing and that they frequently experienced intellectual deficiency. Fatigue leads to sacrificing, which was manifested as refraining, denying oneself, and being isolated. The restoring activities included the categories involuntarily attentive, socially interactive, and mentally absorbed. Interventions aimed to relieve fatigue should focus on restorative activities.
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