Patient Satisfaction With Belatacept Therapy: A Single-Center, Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of belatacept for maintenance immunosuppression after kidney transplantation is well-established in the literature. Although this medication is being increasingly used as a strategy to avoid calcineurin inhibitors, which are associated with numerous adverse effects, patient satisfaction with monthly belatacept infusions is not well understood.

METHODS

We administered a validated treatment satisfaction tool (SATMED-Q) to kidney transplant recipients aged 17 to 85 years, who were receiving monthly belatacept infusions at a single health system-affiliated infusion center.

RESULTS

A total of 74 patients were approached for the study, and 70 completed the survey. The overall satisfaction score was 86.6/100. Scores for satisfaction with medical follow-up and impact on everyday life were 96.9 and 76.7, respectively. Patients also reported high scores in relation to side effects (94.2), general opinion (94.1), and convenience (81.8).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with kidney transplants reported very high satisfaction scores with belatacept use, with almost 100% patients intending to continue belatacept therapy.