Medication non-adherence after kidney transplantation: A critical appraisal and systematic review

Summary Medication non-adherence is one of the most important causes for shortened graft survival subsequently leading to a reduction in kidney graft survival results. Our aim was to provide an overview of its prevalence, risk factors, diagnostic methods and interventions to improve adherence in kidney transplant recipients. Therefore, we systematically searched the databases PubMed, COCHRANE Library, Web of Science and EMBASE for studies addressing “medication adherence”, “compliance”, “adherence”, “kidney transplantation” and “life style factors”. We identified 96 studies that satisfied our inclusion criteria. A problematic lack of a uniformly accepted definition for non-adherence was found, consequently leading to a wide range in non-adherence prevalence (36–55%). Using one uniformly accepted non-adherence definition should therefore be encouraged. A wide range in diagnostic methods makes it difficult to accurately detect non-adherence. Heterogeneous results of intervention studies make it difficult to select the best adherence enhancing method, challenging the battle against medication non-adherence. Literature suggests a combination of personalized interventions, based on patient-specific non-adherent behavior, to be most successful in improvement of adherence. High quality diagnostic methods and multidisciplinary, personalized interventions with focus on relevant clinical outcome are essential in overcoming medication non-adherence in kidney transplant recipients.