Trending News: Medication Adherence Remains Challenge for Pediatric Patients with ADHD

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has released the Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule, United States 2020, according to Contagion Live. The new recommendations include changes in the administration of vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus (HBV), influenza, meningococcal serogroup B, and pneumococcal disease. Additionally, the definition for chronic liver disease, relevant to hepatitis risk assessments, has been expanded to include patients with cirrhosis, HBV, hepatitis C, fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, and an alanine aminotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase level greater than twice the upper limit of normal.

Although ADHD rates continue to rise among children, medication adherence remains a stumbling block for many patients, according to HCP Live. Using regression analysis, investigators examined the associations between predictor variables, such as child sex, ADHD symptom severity, age at first prescription, family socioeconomic status, single parent status, parent education, parent mental health, and medication coverage. The investigators found that male children had higher odds of having taken ADHD medication than female children, and children with ADHD from socially disadvantaged families were less likely to receive medication consistently.

Among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, stroke, myocardial infarction were highly associated with an increased risk of death, according to The American Journal of Managed Care. Morality risk was more strongly associated with the use of long-acting muscarinic antagonists and N-acetylcysteine compared with the lesser risk from inhaled corticosteroids, beta-blockers, and acetylsalicylic acid. Researchers highlighted the need to further examine the safety and efficacy of medications linked with decreased mortality risk and to assess the comorbidities strongly linked to mortality.