SAN DIEGO—Discontinuance of cinacalcet due to non-medical reasons during the first year of treatment is associated with increased mortality, researchers reported at Kidney Week.
A team led by M. Alan Brookhard, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, analyzed data from 21,827 patients who initiated cinacalcet treatment. The investigators assessed cinacalcet discontinuation in 30-day intervals and classified these discontinuations according to whether they were for medical or non-medical. At 12 months, 3,246 (14.9%) had discontinued to medical indications and 12,077 (55.3%) had discontinued for non-medical indications. At 12 and 24 months, the researchers found that the all-cause mortality risk was significantly higher in the patients who discontinued cinacalcet for non-medical rather than medical reasons. The investigators concluded that approximately 3 additional deaths per 100 persons occur when cinacalcet is discontinued because of non-medical versus medical reasons during the first year of treatment.
