[Rivastigmine as treatment for patients with mild to moderately severe Alzheimer disease under normal clinical...

Alzheimer disease (AD) causes progressive cognitive decline leading to loss of independence for activities of daily living; rivastigmine is one of the drugs used for symptomatic management.

To assess the therapeutic use of different pharmaceutical forms of rivastigmine in patients with AD in normal clinical practice.

Cross-sectional, observational, multi-centre study conducted on patients with mild to moderate AD treated with rivastigmine in Spanish outpatient clinics specialising in Geriatrics, Psychiatry, and Neurology. Data regarding use of oral (OR) and transdermal (TDR) rivastigmine, compliance (degree of adherence), and caregiver satisfaction with treatment were evaluated.

In total, 2252 patients with a mean age of 77.2 years were included; 60.2% were women. AD was moderate to moderately severe in 58.4%. Rivastigmine treatment was started orally in 54.4% of the patients and transdermally in 45.6%; 35.6% of those who started treatment by the OR route switched to TDR. A single dose adjustment was sufficient for 77.5% of patients on TDR treatment vs 11.8% of patients receiving OR treatment. More patients on TDR treatment (80.8% vs. 57.1% on OR treatment) reached the maximum therapeutic dose of rivastigmine and did so in a shorter period of time (51.6 vs 205.8 days). Compliance rates (60.5% vs 47.2%) and caregivers' satisfaction with treatment (89.4% vs 81.9%) were also higher for TDR.

In normal clinical practice, using the TDR route of administration improves dose titration and drug compliance, allowing more patients to reach the maximum recommended dose of rivastigmine in a shorter time period.