AB1191 AWARENESS OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AMONGST PATIENTS -A COMPARISON OF THE RESULTS FROM 2014 AND 2018 SURVEYS-
Authors: M. Sato, M. Takemura
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is based on drug therapy. With the increasing number of effective drugs being authorized for use and generic drugs becoming available in the market, patients with RA now have an abundance of drugs as treatment options. Objectives: To conduct a survey of RA patients to evaluate their knowledge about the prescribed drugs, their names, and the respective categories. Methods: In 2014 and 2018, two different surveys were done in which RA patients were interviewed regarding the name of biologics (trade name) and other oral medications (category and trade name of anti-rheumatic drugs, steroid drugs and anti-inflammatory analgesics). The results of the two investigations are compared in this study. Results: A total of 135 (34 men and 101 women) and 184 patients (31 men and 153 women) were interviewed in the surveys done in 2014 and 2018, respectively. In the 2014 survey, the mean age of the patients was 58.5 years (range: 25-88 years), while in the 2018 survey, the mean age of the patients was 61.0 years (range: 14-84 years). The various biologics prescribed to the patients who participated in the 2014 vs. 2018 surveys were as follows: infliximab (27 vs. 22), etanercept (11 vs. 9), adalimumab (14 vs. 16), tocilizumab (43 vs. 71), abatacept (29 vs. 46), golimumab (7 vs. 11), certolizumab-pegol (4 vs. 3), sarilumab (0 vs. 2), and tofacitinib (0 vs. 5), respectively. The number of patients who were prescribed various categories of oral medications, as stated in the 2014 vs 2018 surveys, was as follows: anti-rheumatic drugs, 104 (77.0%) vs. 131 (71.2%); steroid drugs, 36 (26.7%) vs. 44 (23.9%); and anti-inflammatory analgesics, 49 (36.3%) vs. 61 (33.2%), respectively. The number of patients that took medications without any knowledge about the drug name or its category, as reported in the 2014 vs. 2018 surveys was as follows: anti-rheumatic drugs, 24 (23.1%) vs. 42 (32.1%); steroid drugs, 11 (30.1%) vs. 24 (54.5%); and anti-inflammatory analgesics, 15 (30.6%) vs. 17 (27.9%), respectively. In the corresponding years, the number of patients who responded negatively to the question whether they knew about the trade name of the biologics prescribed to them was 15 (11.1%) and 26 (14.1%), in the 2014 and 2018 surveys, respectively. The mean age of the patients who expressed lack of knowledge with respect to the trade name of the biologics prescribed to them was 67.3 and 69.5 years old, in the 2014 and 2018 surveys, respectively; thus suggesting the impact of old age on awareness about prescribed drugs. Many of the biologics prescribed to these patients were intravenous drip formulations, and only one patient was prescribed self-administered subcutaneous injection formulation. This implied that the majority of patients who expressed lack of knowledge regarding the trade name of the biologics were administered the drug by health-care providers at the hospital. Conclusion: Our investigation about RA patients’ understanding of the trade names and category of the drugs they were administered revealed that 20 to 50% of the patients were unaware about the oral medications they were receiving. In particular, there were many patients who had misinterpreted steroidal drugs as analgesics. In addition, approximately 10% of the patients lacked an understanding of drugs that require cautious use due to their potential for causing adverse events. For those biologics administered at the hospital by health-care providers, the patients had a lack of inclination to learn the drug name. In today’s era, with the emergence of generic drugs and an increase in the drug categories, it is not easy for the aging patients to understand and remember information about the prescription drugs. Hence, it is necessary to come up with measures to tackle this situation. Disclosure of Interests: None declared