Treatment Adherence in Renal Transplant Recipients: A Questionnaire Survey on Immunosuppressants

IntroductionTo achieve a high graft survival rate, patient adherence to immunosuppressive therapy is critical. It is extremely difficult to establish the actual adherence status of transplant recipients; only a few surveys on the issue have been performed in Japan.MethodsWe conducted a questionnaire survey mainly on treatment adherence to calcineurin inhibitors among renal transplant recipients.ResultsThe survey demonstrated some degree of nonadherence in a relatively high percentage of the patients. The adherence rate was significantly lower for the evening than the morning dose (McNemar test, P < .001). It significantly decreased with time following transplantation for both the morning and the evening doses (logistic regression analysis, P = .025 and <.001, respectively).ConclusionsImmunosuppressive treatment places a substantial burden on patients, some of whom cannot continue regular treatment at specified time points due to daily life restrictions after they have returned to work.