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NCT Number: NCT02143076

Medication Adherence in Youth With Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

Youth diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) may have difficulty taking medication as prescribed (adherence). Hydroxyurea (HU) is one medication that youth may take to help manage SCD. Electronic adherence monitoring is widely considered the gold standard in objective adherence measurement. These monitors provide continuous, real-time records of medication adherence and reveal problematic behavior patterns, including underdosing, overdosing, delayed dosing, "drug holidays" (i.e. where individuals do not take medications for a specified interval of time), and "white coat" adherence (i.e., a pattern of drug adherence as a function of time where individuals display good adherence immediately before and after clinic attendance with worsening adherence in the period between).

Overall, electronic adherence measures are considered valid, reliable, and accurate, with clear advantages over pharmacy refill records, physician estimates and self-report measures. Currently, only one electronic measure capable of monitoring medications in both pill and liquid form is being manufactured: WisePill and WiseBag. While data are limited regarding its validity and reliability, preliminary data support the use of Wise technology to measure adherence to medication. The current study will determine the Wise device's ability to feasibly measure adherence to liquid and solid form HU medication in a pediatric SCD population.

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Key information

Conditions

Sickle Cell Disease Anemia Anemia, Hemolytic Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital Anemia, Sickle Cell Behavior Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities Genetic Diseases, Inborn Health Behavior Hematologic Diseases Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases Hemoglobinopathies Medication Adherence Patient Acceptance of Health Care Patient Compliance Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Age range

Up to 17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States

About this study

This research study will evaluate HU adherence using an electronic storage device (Wise device) compared to caregiver report, youth report, lab values, and pill-count adherence measures. The investigators will ask participants to store their medication in the Wise device and answer questions about their use of the device during normal clinical care visits.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

  • To examine feasibility of the WISE device by estimating a) rate of consent to the study, b) rate of WISE device use, c) rate of WISE device failure, and d) the perceived acceptability of using the WISE device, as reported by caregivers and youth.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE

  • To estimate the association between HU adherence as measured by the Wise device, to a) caregiver-report, b) youth-report, c) lab values, d) pill-count, and e) Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) adherence measures.

Evaluation of study outcomes will be stratified by age group: (1) infants/toddlers, ages 0-7 years; (2) school age, ages 8-12 years; and (3) teen, ages 13-17 years.

At study enrollment, participants will be asked to complete one questionnaire and will receive instructions on how to use the Wise device. They will be asked to use the Wise device over the following two months. A study team member will contact each participant by phone within seven days of study enrollment to monitor participant use of the Wise device and to answer any questions. Participants will be asked to return the Wise device in two months at their normal clinic care visit. At this visit, participants will be asked to complete two more questionnaires and, as part of standard clinical care, a pill count/bottle weight will be completed by the pharmacy.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Confirmed diagnosis of SCD (any genotype).
  • Less than 18 years of age at time of study entry.
  • Currently followed in the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) SCD clinic.
  • Stable HU dose prescribed (in pill or liquid formulation) for ≥ 6 months without documented hematological toxicity (excluding dose adjustments for weight gain).
  • Lives with their primary caregiver.
  • Anticipated to return to clinic at proposed 4-week or 8-week intervals.

Exclusion criteria

  • Primary caregiver and/or youth unable to understand English and/or youth not cognitively intact (known IQ < 70) such that the study questionnaire cannot be understood and completed.
  • Any condition or chronic illness that in the opinion of the PI or Co-I makes participation on the study ill-advised.

Treatment and study plan

Demographic Questionnaire

Behavioral

At study enrollment, participants will complete a questionnaire to collect demographic information about the participant's family background, education and living situation.

Medical Adherence Measure Questionnaire

Behavioral

At the two-month follow-up visit, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire describing all medications prescribed for them, when they take their medications, how much medication they take each time, how many times during the week they missed taking or were late taking each medication, reasons why they missed or were late, and how they manage their medications.

In the case that a participant's clinic schedule is delayed greater than two months from the time of consent (e.g., missed appointment, change in clinic appointment frequency), procedures scheduled for the anticipated 2-month visit will take place at the participant's next clinic appointment.

Acceptability Questionnaire

Behavioral

At the two-month follow-up visit, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their perceptions of using the Wise electronic medication container.

In the case that a participant's clinic schedule is delayed greater than two months from the time of consent (e.g., missed appointment, change in clinic appointment frequency), procedures scheduled for the anticipated 2-month visit will take place at the participant's next clinic appointment.

Primary outcomes

  1. Percent Rate of Consent to Study Participation

    Time frame: Baseline

    Of the total number of eligible participants, the percent of participants who agree to participate.

  2. Percent Rate of Device Use

    Time frame: Two months after baseline

    The percent of the total participants who keep medicine in the device during the entire trial period.

  3. Percent Rate of Device Failure

    Time frame: Two months after baseline

    Percent of devices that failed defined as a device does not register opening as verified by study staff at the time device is returned to the study team.

  4. Acceptability of Using the Wise Device

    Time frame: Two months after baseline

    Responses by participants and/or caregivers to the Acceptability Questionnaire based on the Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Medication Adherence as Measured by Wise Device Compared to Other Measures of Medication Adherence

    Time frame: Two months after baseline

    Adherence will be determined and compared between: a) adherence indicated by Wise device, b) adherence indicated by caregiver and youth-report, c) adherence indicated by lab values, d) adherence indicated by pill count/bottle volume, and e) adherence indication by medication possession ratio (MPR).

    Each participant's Wise adherence will be calculated as: [(number of device openings ÷ medication prescribed) x 100] where larger percentages suggest better adherence (range: 0-100%). Descriptive statistics for Wise device adherence and other adherence measures, including mean and standard deviation, median and interquartile range, will be estimated. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients and intraclass correlations between different adherence measures will be calculated to measure the associations between HU adherence measures for the entire sample as well as for each age group.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Use of WISE Device Technology to Measure Medication Adherence in Youth With Sickle Cell Disease (SCD): A Pilot Study

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2015
Study completion
2015
First posted
May 20, 2014
Registry last updated
May 27, 2015

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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