[Adherence to Immunosuppressive Medication Following Organ Transplantation]

Organ transplantation is the best and to some extent only option for many patients with chronic organ failure. Usually after successful transplantation patients experience a significant improvement of their condition. Nevertheless, they are not cured but still chronically ill. Living with an organ transplant requires consequent immunosuppression intake, regular physician visits and following the recommendations regarding infection prevention. These factors are important to secure a long transplant survival. Especially non-adherence to immunosuppressants is known as a risk factor for transplant rejection. There are several reasons for non-adherent behavior. However identifying the individual motivations is crucial for addressing them correctly. The aim of this article is to give an overview of factors influencing adherence, to introduce options to assess adherence and to present ways to improve adherence. Randomized-controlled intervention studies are presented and on that basis recommendations for clinical practice are derived.