title: Measurement of urinary copper excretion after 48-h d-penicillamine cessation as a compliance assessment in Wilson's disease.
abstract: Treatment of Wilson's disease (WD) with anti-copper agents is effective in most compliant patients. During long-term treatment with chelating agents, a two-day interruption of the treatment should result in normal urinary copper concentrations (<50 μg/dl). The aim of this study was to establish the usefulness of this method as a compliance assessment in these patients. We examined consecutive patients treated with d-penicillamine (DPA) undergoing routine follow-up studies at our center. We performed 24-h urinary copper excretion analysis 48 h after interruption of chelating therapy. Thirty-two patients were enrolled. After DPA cessation, normalization of copper excretion was observed in 91% of reportedly compliant patients. The specificity and sensitivity values of this test were 87% and 77%, respectively. Measurement of 24-h urinary copper excretion after a 48-h interruption of DPA therapy in patients with WD is a reliable method for confirming patients' compliance.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dzieżyc
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Litwin
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chabik
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Członkowska
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003300:Copper / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006527:Hepatolenticular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010396:Penicillamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002614:Chelating Agents; D003300:Copper; D010396:Penicillamine