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The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences

Patients with acromegaly (a condition of chronic growth hormone hypersecretion by a pituitary adenoma) often require pharmacological treatment. Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) such as pasireotide, lanreotide, and octreotide are frequently used as first-line medical therapy. As SSAs are delivered by regu...

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Autores principales: Plunkett, Cynthia, Barkan, Ariel L
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove Medical Press 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4524590/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26251582
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S84887
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author Plunkett, Cynthia
Barkan, Ariel L
author_facet Plunkett, Cynthia
Barkan, Ariel L
author_sort Plunkett, Cynthia
collection PubMed
description Patients with acromegaly (a condition of chronic growth hormone hypersecretion by a pituitary adenoma) often require pharmacological treatment. Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) such as pasireotide, lanreotide, and octreotide are frequently used as first-line medical therapy. As SSAs are delivered by regular subcutaneous or intramuscular injections, they can result in injection-related pain or anxiety and can be challenging to fit into patients’ lifestyles. When combined with the prolonged, debilitating psychological complications associated with acromegaly, these administration challenges can negatively impact compliance, adherence, and quality of life. Proactively managing patients’ expectations and providing appropriate, timely guidance are crucial for maximizing adherence, and ultimately, optimizing the treatment experience. As part of ongoing clinical research since 1997, our team at the University of Michigan has used SSAs to treat 30 patients with acromegaly. Based on our clinical experiences with multiple SSA administration regimens (long-acting intramuscular, long-acting deep subcutaneous, and twice-daily subcutaneous), we generated a dialog map that guides health care professionals through the many sensitive and complex patient communication issues surrounding this treatment process. Beginning with diagnosis, the dialog map includes discussion of treatment options, instruction on proper drug administration technique, and ensuring of appropriate follow-up care. At each step, we provide talking points that address the following: the patients’ clinical situation; their geographic, economic, and psychological concerns; and their inclination to communicate with clinicians. We have found that involving patients, nurses, and physicians as equal partners in the treatment process optimizes treatment initiation, adherence, and persistence in acromegaly. By encouraging collaboration across the care continuum, this dialog map can facilitate identification of the treatment plan that is most likely to yield the best possible outcome.
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spelling pubmed-45245902015-08-06 The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences Plunkett, Cynthia Barkan, Ariel L Patient Prefer Adherence Expert Opinion Patients with acromegaly (a condition of chronic growth hormone hypersecretion by a pituitary adenoma) often require pharmacological treatment. Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) such as pasireotide, lanreotide, and octreotide are frequently used as first-line medical therapy. As SSAs are delivered by regular subcutaneous or intramuscular injections, they can result in injection-related pain or anxiety and can be challenging to fit into patients’ lifestyles. When combined with the prolonged, debilitating psychological complications associated with acromegaly, these administration challenges can negatively impact compliance, adherence, and quality of life. Proactively managing patients’ expectations and providing appropriate, timely guidance are crucial for maximizing adherence, and ultimately, optimizing the treatment experience. As part of ongoing clinical research since 1997, our team at the University of Michigan has used SSAs to treat 30 patients with acromegaly. Based on our clinical experiences with multiple SSA administration regimens (long-acting intramuscular, long-acting deep subcutaneous, and twice-daily subcutaneous), we generated a dialog map that guides health care professionals through the many sensitive and complex patient communication issues surrounding this treatment process. Beginning with diagnosis, the dialog map includes discussion of treatment options, instruction on proper drug administration technique, and ensuring of appropriate follow-up care. At each step, we provide talking points that address the following: the patients’ clinical situation; their geographic, economic, and psychological concerns; and their inclination to communicate with clinicians. We have found that involving patients, nurses, and physicians as equal partners in the treatment process optimizes treatment initiation, adherence, and persistence in acromegaly. By encouraging collaboration across the care continuum, this dialog map can facilitate identification of the treatment plan that is most likely to yield the best possible outcome. Dove Medical Press 2015-07-30 /pmc/articles/PMC4524590/ /pubmed/26251582 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S84887 Text en © 2015 Plunkett and Barkan. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.
spellingShingle Expert Opinion
Plunkett, Cynthia
Barkan, Ariel L
The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
title The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
title_full The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
title_fullStr The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
title_full_unstemmed The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
title_short The care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
title_sort care continuum in acromegaly: how patients, nurses, and physicians can collaborate for successful treatment experiences
topic Expert Opinion
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4524590/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26251582
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S84887
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