Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Care in the Adherence of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Treatment

Adherence to treatment is a primary determinant for the effectiveness of health care. Non-compliance may lead to therapeutic failure, make more difficult and complex the management of chronic diseases or cause death. The effectiveness of interventions on adherence has an important impact in the health of the population. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with high proportion of hospital admissions and deaths and high cost of treatment. The prevalence of adherence in this group of patients in Brazil is very low (31.7%) and the drug treatment is complex. Our aim is to assess the effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Care in the adherence of drug treatment by SLE patients attended in a Rheumatology outpatient clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Randomized clinical trial (pragmatic trial), in which 120 adult patients with confirmed SLE diagnosis will be followed for 12 months, and randomized in two groups: the intervention group (attended by a pharmacist according to the Dader Method for Pharmaceutical Care), and the control group (attended by a non-pharmacist professional with counseling on hygiene/nutrition and reduction of risks in lupus therapy). The main outcome will be adherence to drug therapy and secondary outcomes the improvement of the medical condition and the quality of life of the patients.