Pegylated interferon alfa-2b pen device and ribavirin treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C: an evaluation of patient satisfaction

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of patients with chronic hepatitis C who used the pegylated interferon α-2b pen device. METHODSPatients from multiple centers in Greece were recruited to participate in this noninterventional, observational study. Patients received pen device training for at least 6 weeks before treatment and used questionnaires to provide feedback (rating scale1–4, negative; 5–7, positive) on training, medication preparation and injection, and appreciation of the device. Results were analyzed with standard statistical analysis and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTSIn total, 507 patients (mean age, 43.5 years), 77.4% of whom were treatment naive, participated in the study. Overall, 84.2% of patients rated training positively, 67.4% of patients rated medication preparation positively, and 88.3% of patients rated medication injection positively. Appreciation of the pen device treatment method was rated positively by 82.2% of patients. Intravenous drug users were more likely to rate medication injection positively (P=0.0284) and to appreciate this method of drug delivery (P=0.0328) than other patients. Patients with lower levels of education were less likely to rate training positively (P=0.0202) and showed less appreciation for this route of drug delivery (P=0.0341) than other patients. Treatment-naive patients were more likely to provide positive responses about the overall procedure than were treatment-experienced patients (odds ratio1.932; P=0.032). Adverse events were reported by 6.4% (29 of 453) of patients. CONCLUSIONPatients were satisfied with the pegylated interferon α-2b pen device; therefore, good treatment adherence is expected with its use.