Promoting medication adherence from the perspective of adolescent and young adult kidney transplant recipients, parents, and health care professionals: A TAKE-IT TOO study.

Medication non-adherence is an important factor limiting allograft survival after kidney transplantation in AYA. Some interventions, including the TAKE-IT, showed some success in promoting adherence but the potential for scalability and use in routine clinical practice is limited. We applied user-centered design to gather the perspectives of recipients, parents, and health professionals concerning their needs, challenges, and potential intervention strategies to design an optimal, multi-component medication adherence intervention. The qualitative study was conducted at four Canadian and three American kidney transplant programs. Separate focus groups for recipients, parents, and health professionals were convened to explore these stakeholders' perspectives. Directed content analysis was employed to identify themes that were shared vs distinct across stakeholders. All stakeholder groups reported challenges related to taking medications on time in the midst of their busy schedules and the demands of transitioning toward independence during adolescence. The stakeholders also made suggestions for the multi-component behavioral intervention, including an expanded electronic pillbox and companion website, education materials, and customized digitized features to support shared responsibility and communication among recipients, parents, and health professionals. Several suggestions regarding the functionality and features of the potential intervention reported in this early stage will be explored in more depth as the iterative process unfolds. Our approach to actively involve all stakeholders in the process increases the likelihood of designing an adherence intervention that is truly user-informed and fit for the clinical setting.

Blood Pressure Measurement in Severely Obese Patients: Validation of the Forearm Approach in Different Arm Positions.

BACKGROUND: Blood pressure measurement in severe obesity may be technically challenging as the cuff of the device may not fit adequately around the upper arm. The aim of the study was to assess the agreement between intra-arterial blood pressure values (gold standard) compared with forearm blood pressure measurements in severely obese patients in different arm positions. METHODS: Thirty-three severely obese patients and 21 controls participated in the study. Pairs of intra-arterial blood pressures were compared with simultaneous forearm blood pressure measurement using an oscillometric device in 4 positions: (i) supine, (ii) semi-fowler with the forearm resting at heart level, (iii) semi-fowler with the arm downward, and (iv) semi-fowler with the arm raised overhead. Degree of agreement between measurements was assessed. RESULTS: Overall, correlations of systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements between the gold standard and forearm blood pressure were 0.95 (n = 722; P < 0.001) and 0.89 (n = 482; P < 0.001), respectively. Systolic blood pressure measured using the forearm approach in the supine and the semi-fowler positions with arm downward showed the best agreement when compared with the gold standard (-4 ± 11 (P < 0.001) and 2 ± 14 mm Hg (P = 0.19), respectively). In the control group, better agreement was found between the supine and semi-fowler positions with the arm resting at heart level (1 ± 9 mm Hg (P = 0.29) and -3 ± 10 mm Hg (P = 0.01), respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Forearm systolic blood pressure consistently agreed with the gold standard in the supine position. This method can be of use in clinical settings when upper-arm measurement is challenging in severe obesity.

Rosiglitazone influences adipose tissue distribution without deleterious impact on heart rate variability in coronary heart disease patients with type 2 diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity is associated with decreased heart rate variability (HRV). Rosiglitazone, a PPARγ agonist, is generally associated with increases in body mass. PURPOSE: To assess whether the gain in body mass and adiposity expected from rosiglitazone treatment has an influence on HRV in patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease aged between 40 and 75 years were studied. Anthropometric measurements: (1) body mass index (BMI), (2) waist circumference (WC), (3) abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan, and HRV (using a 24 h Holter) were measured at baseline and after 12 months of treatment. Patients were randomized to rosiglitazone or placebo regimen. RESULTS: In the rosiglitazone vs. placebo group, there were significant increases in body mass [3.5 (2.6;4.4); mean (95 % CI) vs. 0.2 (-0.4;0.8)] kg), BMI [1.3 (1.0;1.6) vs. 0.1 (-0.1;0.3) kg/m2], WC [2.1 (0.9;3.3) vs. 0.4 (-0.4;1.2) cm, all p ≤ 0.001] and subcutaneous adipose tissue [253 (187;319) vs. 6 (-24;36) cm3, p ≤ 0.001] without statistically significant changes in visceral adipose tissue [-22 (-91;47) vs. 57 (43;71) cm3, p = 0.546], respectively. There was no change in HRV in either group after 12 months. There were no correlations between changes in HRV variables and fat distribution. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that changes in adiposity indices observed after 12 months of rosiglitazone therapy have no deleterious influence on HRV in patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Angiotensin II-converting enzyme inhibition improves survival, ventricular remodeling, and myocardial energetics in experimental aortic regurgitation.

BACKGROUND: Aortic valve regurgitation (AR) is a volume-overload disease causing severe eccentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and eventually heart failure. There is currently no approved drug to treat patients with AR. Many vasodilators including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have been evaluated in clinical trials, but although some results were promising, others were inconclusive. Overall, no drug has yet been able to improve clinical outcome in AR and the controversy remains. We have previously shown in an animal model that captopril (Cpt) reduced LV hypertrophy and protected LV systolic function, but we had not evaluated the clinical outcome. This protocol was designed to evaluate the effects of a long-term Cpt treatment on survival in the same animal model of severe aortic valve regurgitation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty Wistar rats with AR were treated or untreated with Cpt (1 g/L in drinking water) for a period of 7 months to evaluate survival, myocardial remodeling, and function by echocardiography as well as myocardial metabolism by µ positron emission tomography scan. Survival was significantly improved in Cpt-treated animals with a survival benefit visible as soon as after 4 months of treatment. Cpt reduced LV dilatation and LV hypertrophy. It also significantly improved the myocardial metabolic profile by restoring the level of fatty acids metabolic enzymes and use. CONCLUSIONS: In a controlled animal model of pure severe aortic valve regurgitation, Cpt treatment reduced LV remodeling and LV hypertrophy and improved myocardial metabolic profile and survival. These results support the need to reevaluate the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in humans with AR in a large, carefully designed prospective clinical trial.