Real-World Adherence and Persistence of Upfront Therapy in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in the United States.

INTRODUCTION

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive disease resulting from elevated pulmonary arterial pressure leading to right ventricular failure and death. Optimal adherence and persistence to medical therapy are necessary to improve outcomes. The objective of this study was to characterize adherence and persistence to first-line PAH therapies in patients newly initiating treatment.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study utilized Komodo Research Database claims data. Adults initiating therapy were identified based on ≥ 1 claim for a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) and/or an endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2022 (index date), continuous medical and pharmacy health plan enrollment for ≥ 12 months before and including index, ≥ 1 inpatient or ≥ 2 outpatient claims for pulmonary hypertension/PAH, and ≥ 1 claim for right heart catheterization. Adherence was measured by proportion of days covered (PDC); nonadherence was defined as PDC < 80%. Persistence was defined as time from index to treatment discontinuation (gap in therapy > 60 days). Propensity score matching was utilized 1:1:1 across groups.

RESULTS

A total of 9176 patients met the study criteria (6989 PDE5i, 1006 ERA, 1181 dual combination). After matching, each cohort included 714 patients. Median (95% confidence interval) persistence was highest for ERA monotherapy (26.5 [19.0-33.0] months), followed by dual combination therapy (19.8 [16.6-23.4] months) and PDE5i monotherapy (12.9 [10.8-17.4] months)-P = 0.019, dual combination versus ERA; P = 0.026, dual combination versus PDE5i. Nonadherence was highest with dual combination therapy (35.4%), followed by PDE5i monotherapy (17.1%) and ERA monotherapy (11.9%)-P < 0.001, dual combination versus each monotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Adherence to initial PAH therapy is suboptimal, especially with upfront dual combination therapy. Persistence was highest for ERA monotherapy, followed by dual combination therapy and PDE5i monotherapy. Strategies to improve adherence and persistence are crucial to optimizing outcomes.