Long‐term persistence with mirabegron in a real‐world clinical setting

Objectives To examine the long‐term persistence rate with mirabegron in a real‐world clinical setting. Methods We retrospectively collected the data of patients who were prescribed mirabegron. We investigated the persistence rate and the reason for the discontinuation. The analysis included patient's age, diagnosis, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score, prostatic volume, the prescription by specialists for lower urinary tract dysfunction, drug‐naïve patients, replacement of antimuscarinics or add‐on therapy to antimuscarinics. Results A total of 556 patients were included. Among them, 401 patients (72%) had overactive bladder and the other 155 (28%) were categorized as having other storage symptoms. During the observation period, 170 patients (42%) with overactive bladder discontinued mirabegron. The reasons for discontinuation in patients with overactive bladder included unmet expectation of treatment (45 patients, 26%), any adverse events (38 patients, 22%) or symptom improvement (37 patients, 22%). The persistence or discontinuation was not related with age, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score, prostatic volume or the prescription by specialists, while older male patients tended to continue mirabegron. The 3‐year persistence rates in female and male overactive bladder patients were 46% and 51%, respectively, and these were better than those in patients with storage symptoms without urgency. In female overactive bladder patients, the persistence rate with mirabegron used as add‐on therapy to antimuscarinics was higher than that in the drug‐naïve patients on the Kaplan–Meier curve. Conclusions The present study shows a relatively good long‐term persistence rate with mirabegron in overactive bladder patients, notwithstanding the retrospective study in an academic hospital. The combined treatment with antimuscarinics could result in a good persistence rate with mirabegron.