ORAL TREATMENT SCHEDULES FOR ONYCHOMYCOSIS - A STUDY OF PATIENT PREFERENCE

Background An improved understanding of patients' attitudes to medicat ion may help promote compliance with oral medications for onychomycosi s. This study was performed to assess patients' preference between con tinuous and intermittent oral treatment schedules for onychomycosis an d to determine the reasons underlying the selections made. Methods Pat ients were eligible for inclusion if they had current onychomycosis an d were willing to take oral medication for this condition. In a 30-min , face-to-face interview, each patient answered questions about four p ossible treatment schedules for onychomycosis: regimen 1 - continuous (daily regular intake) for 12 weeks; regimen 2 - intermittent 1 week/m onth for 3 months (last week of therapy is week 9); regimen 3 - interm ittent once weekly for 21 weeks; regimen 4 - intermittent 1 week/month for 4 months (last week of therapy is week 13). Results A total of 10 2 patients from Germany and Spain participated in the study. When aske d to choose between regimens 1, 2, and 3, 46% of patients favored the g-week intermittent schedule, 42% selected the 12-week continuous sche dule, and 12% preferred the 21-week intermittent schedule. The prefere nce for the 9-week intermittent schedule was more notable among younge r patients (<45 years), possibly because they are less used to taking regular medication, and among Spanish patients, an effect that could n ot be attributed to age because the average age of patients was simila r in the participating countries (Germany 47.2 years; Spain 48.0 years ). When the patients who preferred regimen 2 were asked to choose betw een regimens 1, 3, and 4 (both intermittent schedules longer than the continuous schedule), most (57%) favored the shortest treatment schedu le (regimen 2). Conclusions Overall, patients favored an intermittent schedule lasting 9 weeks. Treatment duration is the critical factor in determining patients' preference for treatment schedules for onychomy cosis.