Understanding the Patient's Journey in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis in Clinical Practice.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to describe the treatment journey of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODS

This study was conducted in 2 phases. The first consisted of a claims-based analysis of data from patients diagnosed with MS between October 1, 2010, and May 31, 2014. Study patients were aged ≥18 years, had ≥12 months of continuous eligibility before and after the earliest MS diagnosis (index date), ≥1 disease-modifying therapy (DMT) claim postindex, and no claims with a code for DMT or MS during the 12-month preindex period. The second phase consisted of medical record reviews in a subset of patients in the claims study who had ≥1 neurologist visit within 90 days of the index MS diagnosis.

FINDINGS

A total of 1639 patients were selected for claims-based analysis, and medical record analysis was conducted in a subset of 327 of those patients. The mean age in both samples was 42 years; females constituted about 70% of each group. Medical records showed that within a year of the first neurologist visit, 97.6% patients had a confirmed MS diagnosis; however, in 58.0%, MS type was not specified. MS symptoms were documented in less than half of all patients at the index neurologist visit. Early management consisted of magnetic resonance imaging (98.5% of patients), and the management of flares (annualized relapse rate, 0.3 [0.6] per patient). Use of spinal tap (21.7%), Expanded Disability Status Scale score (4.6%), and timed 25-foot walk score (8.6%) to evaluate disease progression was infrequent. The percentages of patients discontinuing the first DMT over time were high (43.1% among patients with 12-24 months of postindex follow-up, to 65.7% among patients with >36 months of postindex follow-up). Neurologists noted that about 10% of patients had difficulty adhering to an MS medication regimen, and documented several reasons for discontinuation, including adverse drug events and lack of desired effectiveness.

IMPLICATIONS

In clinical practice, early MS treatment in DMT users is focused on symptom management, irrespective of MS type. Patients may benefit from initiating optimal treatment earlier. First-line therapy was often a transient option.