Introduction: Single-pill combination therapy for hypertension is recognized to improve adherence to treatment. However, less is known about the benefits of triple single-pill combinations. This retrospective observational analysis aimed to assess changes in adherence when treatment was switched from perindopril (PER)/indapamide (IND) + amlodipine (AML) to PER/IND/AML single-pill combination, in Italian clinical practice.
Methods: This analysis used data extracted from administrative databases of Italian healthcare entities. Adult patients receiving PER/IND/AML were selected, and the prescription date was considered as the index date. Among them, those who had a prescription for PER/IND + AML during the 12 months before the index date and a prescription of PER/IND/AML during 6 months of follow-up were included. Adherence was calculated as the proportion of days covered (PDC: PDC < 40%, non-adherent; PDC = 40-79%, partially adherent; PDC ≥ 80%, adherent).
Results: Among the identified patients, 158 were exposed users and were included in the analysis. When patients were compared before and after switch to triple single-pill combination, the proportion of adherent patients was significantly higher with PER/IND/AML single-pill combination (75.3%) than with PER/IND + AML combination (44.3%) (P < 0.05). Conversely, the proportion of non-adherent patients was lower with the PER/IND/AML single-pill combination (14.6%) vs PER/IND + AML (17.7%) (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: This real-world analysis showed that switching to a triple single-pill combination could offer an opportunity to improve adherence to antihypertensive treatment in real-life clinical practice.
Keywords: Adherence; Amlodipine; Hypertension; Indapamide; Perindopril; Triple single-pill combination therapy.
Medication adherence is defined by the World Health Organization as the “extent to which a person’s behavior (in taking medication) corresponds with agreed recommendations from a healthcare provider”. Low levels of medication adherence in hypertension have been linked with increased disease burden and with higher costs for patients. Patients with hypertension whose blood pressure is poorly controlled often need to receive more than one pill. Nevertheless, having to take many pills may result in poor adherence, i.e., patients not taking their treatment as prescribed. Combining multiple drugs into a single pill for the management of hypertension is known to improve adherence; however, limited evidence exists about the benefits of triple single-pill combinations compared with equivalent free combinations in real clinical practice. This analysis evaluated changes in adherence before and after patients switched from a three-drug therapy of perindopril/indapamide single-pill + amlodipine (PER/IND + AML) to perindopril/indapamide/amlodipine (PER/IND/AML) taken as a single pill. In this analysis, real-world data from Italian administrative databases covering around 11% of the Italian population were used. Overall, 158 patients were included. More patients were found to be adherent after switch to PER/IND/AML single pill (75.3% vs 44.3% of PER/IND + AML combination). Partially adherent and poorly adherent patients were fewer with PER/IND/AML single-pill combination (10.1% and 14.6%, respectively) compared to PER/IND + AML combination (38.0% and 17.7%, respectively). These findings indicate that switching to a simplified therapy in which all three drugs are taken in one pill may offer an opportunity for increasing the number of patients that are adherent to their medication.
© 2023. The Author(s).