[Orally disintegrating donepezil: are the main caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease more satisfied with this formulation of donepezil than with the traditional one?].
OBJECTIVE
To know whether caregivers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients on donepezil treatment are more satisfied with the orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) formulation than with the film-coated tablets.


METHODS
Multicenter, cross-sectional study of patients with probably AD by DSM-IV or NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, on monotherapy with donepezil, ODT or film-coated tablets. Satisfaction with treatment was assessed by the caregiver self-administered generic Treatment Satisfaction with Medicines Questionnaire (SATMED-Q) -range: 0, no satisfaction, to 100, maximal satisfaction-, total and in six dimensions: undesirable effects, efficacy, medical care, medication ease and convenience, medication impact on daily activities, and overall satisfaction.


RESULTS
546 patients were enrolled (9,6% institutionalized); 64,8% women; 78,2 +/- 6,5 years of age; disease evolution of 22.5 +/- 24.6 months, Minimental State Examination (MMSE) mean score: 18,5 +/- 5; 67.9% on film-coated tablets and 32.1% on ODT. After adjusting by MMSE and time of treatment, caregivers of patients on ODT showed significantly higher SATMED-Q total score (74.5 +/- 11.8 vs. 70.4 +/- 12.3; p lower than 0.0004) and medication ease and convenience (84.9 +/- 16.4 vs. 79.8 +/- 17.6; p = 0.0059), impact of medication on daily activities (50.2 +/- 22.8 vs. 43.7 +/- 25.5; p = 0.0006) and satisfaction with medical care (79.4 +/- 19.5 vs. 75.6 +/- 21.8; p = 0.04894) scores. 91.6% of caregivers of patients on ODT (versus 82.9% of those on film-coated tablets; p = 0.023) stated that taking the medication was easy for their relatives.


CONCLUSIONS
Results show that caregivers of AD patients on donepezil treatment are more satisfied with ODT versus film-coated tablets, especially due to its better ease of use.
Servicio de Neurología., Hospital Virgen de Salud, Toledo, España.
C
C
Sevilla
P E
PE
Jiménez-Caballero
V
V
Alfonso
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000077265:Donepezil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013607:Tablets; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007189:Indans; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D010880:Piperidines; D013607:Tablets; D000077265:Donepezil