Elwing Jean M, Barta Stacey, Smith Tim, Rendon Gabriela Gomez, Lopez David, Peters Wesley, Sandros Marinella, Muralidhar Akshay
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio USA.
Pulmonary Hypertension Patient Engagement Research Council Santee California USA.
Pulm Circ. 2025 May 28;15(2):e70098. doi: 10.1002/pul2.70098. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) requires lifelong medication, with patients taking an average of 12 tablets/day. Several chronic diseases can be treated with a fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablet, decreasing patient pill burden and increasing adherence. This exploratory research, conducted via focus groups, asked 13 patients with PAH for their insights about the use of FDC (2 PAH treatments in a single tablet), its potential benefits, and challenges to its use. At the time of the focus groups (July 2023), no FDC medications were available for PAH and the discussions were therefore hypothetical. Focus group transcripts were analyzed by a qualitative research specialist to identify key themes. Most participants were unfamiliar with FDC prior to taking part in the focus groups; however, during the engagement, 12/13 participants expressed interest in taking FDC as single-tablet therapy for their PAH. In general, participants saw the potential benefits as improved convenience, less time spent navigating insurance coverage, and improved adherence. Participants felt that reducing their tablet count by just one tablet would be meaningful to them. Concerns were raised about the potential difficulty with medication titration and challenges distinguishing between the side effects of two combined medications. This exploratory research provides insight into the perceptions of US patients on the utility of FDC in PAH and highlights an unmet need for patient education on medication adherence in PAH.
肺动脉高压（PAH）需要终身服药，患者平均每天要服用12片药。几种慢性病可以通过固定剂量复方（FDC）片剂进行治疗，这能减轻患者的服药负担并提高依从性。这项探索性研究通过焦点小组进行，询问了13名PAH患者对使用FDC（将两种PAH治疗药物合在一片药中）的看法、其潜在益处以及使用中面临的挑战。在进行焦点小组讨论时（2023年7月），尚无用于PAH的FDC药物，因此讨论都是假设性的。一位定性研究专家对焦点小组的文字记录进行了分析，以确定关键主题。大多数参与者在参加焦点小组之前并不熟悉FDC；然而，在讨论过程中，13名参与者中有12名表示有兴趣将FDC作为PAH的单片疗法。总体而言，参与者认为潜在益处包括便利性提高、处理保险覆盖问题所花时间减少以及依从性提高。参与者觉得哪怕只是减少一片药的服用数量对他们来说也很有意义。有人对药物滴定的潜在困难以及区分两种联合药物副作用的挑战表示担忧。这项探索性研究深入了解了美国患者对FDC在PAH治疗中的效用的看法，并凸显了PAH患者在药物依从性方面的患者教育需求未得到满足的情况。
