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More than a quarter of patients with acne reported nonadherence to treatment

Twenty-seven percent of patients with acne reported they did not fill all their prescriptions, with a higher percentage of nonadherence reported when multiple treatments were prescribed, according to data from a recently published study.

Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C., conducted medical record reviews to identify patients who had an acne diagnosis at a dermatology visit during the prior 3 months and were prescribed one, two, or three or more treatments. One hundred forty-three patients (mean age: 28 years) were divided based on the number of treatments they were prescribed and were asked questions in telephone interviews regarding adherence to their acne regimen; participants included 47, 48 and 48 patients in the one-, two- and three-treatment subgroups, respectively.

Rates of primary nonadherence, both overall and for each treatment cohort, were used as primary outcomes. 

Twenty-seven percent of the patients did not fill all their prescriptions. Broken down by subgroup, 9% in the one-treatment cohort, 40% in the two-treatment cohort and 31% in the three-treatment cohort did not fill all prescriptions.

Primary nonadherence in any of the three cohorts did not significantly differ by sex or age, according to the researchers. There was a 30% nonadherence rate for topical retinoids. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed an association with nonadherence for prescription of topical retinoids (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9) or an over-the-counter product (OR = 3.6). Patients given electronic prescriptions reported less primary adherence than those who received paper prescriptions (P< .001), according to univariate analysis results.

According to the researchers, the 27% overall nonadherence to acne treatments was greater than a previously reported rate of 10%. However, the current study was based on patient reporting rather than pharmacy data, and over-the-counter treatments were included in the data. – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosures: Anderson reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.