FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH NON-ADHERENCE TO HEPATITIS B VIRUS ANTIVIRAL THERAPY

Objective: To assess the adherence to antivirals in Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infected patients and to determine various social and demographic factors which can have an impact on it. Study Design: Cross- sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Gastroenterology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Jan to Mar 2019. Methodology: Patients on oral anti-viral agents for hepatitis B virus infection were enrolled from outdoor clinics using consecutive sampling technique. Medication adherence was assessed using the 4-item Modified Morisky Score Questionnaire. Data was also collected about different variables that could potentially affect compliance, such as age, gender, education, residence, total number of pills prescribed for each day, travelling time to hospital, attendant’s company, adverse effects of treatment, presence of co-morbid conditions, patients’ knowledge regarding importance of adherence and whether they followed any particular routine in taking medicines. Results: There were 127 patients having mean age of 47.80 ± 14.54 years. Out of these, 20 (15.75%) were not adherent to treatment. Patients not following a fixed drug-dosing schedule, patients not aware of the significance of good drug compliance and residents of urban areas were more likely to have lesser compliance to treatment. Conclusion: Majority of our patients were compliant to treatment for chronic hepatitis B infection. This was more likely to be the case amongst those following a fixed drug-dosing schedule, having an awareness of significance of adherence to medication and residents of rural areas.