TUESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Most patients do not take anti-osteoporosis therapy following hip fracture and there is poor adherence to treatment among those who are treated, according to a report in the October issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Veronique Rabenda, of the University of Liege in Belgium, and colleagues performed a retrospective cohort study examining whether patients were treated with anti-osteoporosis therapy following a hip fracture, and evaluated both compliance and persistence with therapy. Compliance was calculated using the medication possession ratio (number of days of alendronate supplied during the first year of treatment divided by 365). Persistence with prescribed treatment was calculated as percent of time where there was no lapse of more than five weeks between prescription refills.
Overall, 23,146 patients with hip fracture were identified and 6 percent received treatment during the study period. Medication possession ratios for women followed for at least one year and receiving daily or weekly alendronate were 65.9 percent and 67.7 percent, respectively, the researchers report. At six months, the rate of persistence was 60 percent, while at 12 months, only 41 percent of women continued to take medication without a gap of more than five weeks between prescription refills.
"On the basis of the present study, we conclude that the vast majority of patients who have a hip fracture do not take anti-osteoporosis therapy after the fracture," the authors comment. "Furthermore, among patients who initiate alendronate treatment after the fracture, the adherence to treatment decreases over time and remains suboptimal. Strategies need to be developed to ensure that these patients receive and adhere to an osteoporosis drug therapy regimen following recovery from the hip fracture."
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
