Treatment adherence among adult hypertensive patients: a cross-sectional retrospective study in primary care in Romania

Ioan Tilea,1 Dorina Petra,1 Septimiu Voidazan,2 Elena Ardeleanu,3 Andreea Varga1 1Department M3-Internal Medicine, Family Medicine Discipline, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tirgu Mures, Mures, Romania; 2Department M2-Functional and Complementary Sciences, Epidemiology Discipline, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tirgu Mures, Mures, Romania; 3Department XVI-Balneology, Medical Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, Family Medicine Discipline, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Timis, Romania Purpose: This study was performed to elucidate the level of adherence to antihypertensive treatment in adult subjects attending a family medicine clinic in a city in central Romania.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective study was performed on a cohort of hypertensive adults. A total of 525 participants were selected from 1,714 adults attending a single urban family medicine practice. Assessment of adherence to therapy was performed by a chart review of prescription and clinical records over a 4-year study period.Results: The results showed that 69.8% of the patients had high adherence (>80% with therapy); 20.3% had medium adherence (20%–79%); and 9.9% had low adherence (<20%). A positive association was found (p = 0.01) between low adherence and male gender. A significant positive association (p = 0.02) was found between total cardiovascular risk and level of adherence. We found that 54.7% of the high adherence subjects had well-controlled blood pressure, and chronic kidney disease was associated with high adherence to therapy (p = 0.03). Antihypertensive regimens administered as fixed-dose combinations were positively associated with high adherence (p = 0.001). Subjects who had their antihypertensive regimen adjusted to a new drug class during the study period showed enhanced adherence compared to subjects treated with an unchanged regimen (p = 0.001).Conclusion: This is the first published study assessing adherence to antihypertensive therapy in family medicine practice in Romania. It presented data derived from a primarily urban setting and targeted a geographical area where the prevalence of hypertension has increased continuously. Female gender, age, presence of cardiovascular risk factors, defined cardiovascular disease, chronic renal impairment, and good control of hypertension were positively associated with high adherence. The results provide insights to guide further strategies to improve adherence and indirect methods for blood pressure management strategies. Keywords: blood pressure, family medicine, hypertension, prescription, Eastern Europ

Fascin-1 and its role as a serological marker in prostate cancer: A prospective case-control study

Aim: This study aims to investigate any modification of serological FSCN1 in prostate cancer patients compared with patients without neoplasia. Material & methods: Clinical data and blood specimens from patients with and without prostate cancer were obtained. A quantitative sandwich ELISA method was used to determine serological values of FSCN1. Results: Although serum values of FSCN1 were dissimilar in the two cohorts of patients (6.90 vs 7.33 ng/ml), the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.20). Serum values of FSCN1 stratified for Gleason score groups were not significantly distinguishable (p = 0.65). A negative correlation (rho = -0.331; p = 0.009) was reported between FSCN1 and age. Conclusion: Further studies are required to evaluate a possible diagnostic role of FSCN1 in prostate cancer