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Multicenter cluster-randomized trial of a multifactorial intervention to improve antihypertensive medication adherence and blood pressure control among patients at high cardiovascular risk (The COM99 Study)
Pladevall-Vila, M., Brotons, C., Gabriel, R., Arnau, A., Suarez, C., Marquez, E., Coca, A., Sobrino, J., Divine, G., Williams, LK., & Writing Committee on behalf of COM99 Study Group, U. (2010). Multicenter cluster-randomized trial of a multifactorial intervention to improve antihypertensive medication adherence and blood pressure control among patients at high cardiovascular risk (The COM99 Study). Circulation, 122(12), 1183-1191. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.892778
Background— Medication nonadherence is common and results in preventable disease complications. This study assessed the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention to improve both medication adherence and blood pressure control and to reduce cardiovascular events.
Methods and Results— In this multicenter, cluster-randomized trial, physicians from hospital-based hypertension clinics and primary care centers across Spain were randomized to receive and provide the intervention to their high-risk patients. Eligible patients were 50 years of age, had uncontrolled hypertension, and had an estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk greater than 30%. Physicians randomized to the intervention group counted patients' pills, designated a family member to support adherence behavior, and provided educational information to patients. The primary outcome was blood pressure control at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included both medication adherence and a composite end point of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular-related hospitalizations. Seventy-nine physicians and 877 patients participated in the trial. The mean duration of follow-up was 39 months. Intervention patients were less likely to have an uncontrolled systolic blood pressure (odds ratio 0.62, 95% confidence interval 0.50 to 0.78) and were more likely to be adherent (odds ratio 1.91, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 3.05) than control group patients at 6 months. After 5 years, 16% of the patients in the intervention group and 19% in the control group met the composite end point (hazard ratio 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.67 to 1.39).
Conclusions— A multifactorial intervention to improve adherence to antihypertensive medication was effective in improving both adherence and blood pressure control, but it did not appear to improve long-term cardiovascular events.