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Treatment compliance in children and adults with cystic fibrosis

Rosa Patricia Arias Llorente1, Carlos Bousoño García, Juan José Díaz Martín

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. soyrosapatricia@hotmail.com

Journal of Cystic Fibrosis : Official Journal of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society
|February 29, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients show better adherence to digestive and respiratory medications than other treatments. Compliance decreases with age and disease severity, but improves with treatments patients find more important.

Area of Science:

  • Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Cystic Fibrosis (CF) requires lifelong adherence to complex treatment regimens.
  • Understanding patient and provider perceptions of treatment compliance is crucial for optimizing care in CF.
  • Factors influencing adherence in CF patients, including age and disease severity, require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess treatment compliance in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients from multiple perspectives (patient, parent, multidisciplinary team).
  • To analyze the perceived importance of different CF treatments and identify reasons for non-adherence.
  • To explore potential predictors of therapeutic compliance in individuals with CF.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 34 CF patients (aged 1.6–40.6 years) attending an outpatient clinic.
  • Self-administered questionnaires were used to determine compliance with physiotherapy, nutritional supplements, and respiratory/digestive medications.
  • Medical staff provided subjective classifications of patient compliance (compliant/non-compliant).

Main Results:

  • Higher compliance was observed for digestive (88.2%) and respiratory medications (61.8%) compared to physiotherapy (41.2%) or nutritional supplements (59%).
  • Digestive medications were deemed indispensable by 94.1% of patients, while 26.4% felt respiratory medications or supplements had little impact on quality of life.
  • Younger patients (10.4 vs. 20.5 years) exhibited greater compliance and had less severe disease (Shwachman score 83.2 vs. 73.9).

Conclusions:

  • CF patients demonstrate better adherence to digestive and respiratory medications than to physiotherapy or nutritional supplements.
  • Therapeutic adherence in CF patients declines with increasing age and disease severity.
  • Treatment adherence is positively influenced by patient-perceived importance and impact on quality of life.
Abstract

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