Medication adherence in patients with carotid artery stenosis before/after enrollment in CARUSO study

Michela Lanza; Tiziana Aranzulla; Antonella Cassinari; Giuseppe Musumeci; Andrea Gaggiano; Marianna Farotto; Carlotta Bertolina; Marinella Bertolotti; Antonio Maconi; Alberto Guagliano

doi:10.4081/wpph.2025.10073

Authors

Michela Lanza CS Vascular Surgery, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0442-4286
Tiziana Aranzulla CS Cardiology, Azienda Ospedaliera Ordine Mauriziano, Torino, Italy.
Antonella Cassinari Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7954-0055
Giuseppe Musumeci CS Cardiology, Azienda Ospedaliera Ordine Mauriziano, Torino, Italy.
Andrea Gaggiano CS Vascular Surgery, Azienda Ospedaliera Ordine Mauriziano, Torino, Italy.
Marianna Farotto
mfarotto@aslal.it
Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Sanitaria Locale, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4159-6755
Carlotta Bertolina Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5458-6914
Marinella Bertolotti Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2152-4930
Antonio Maconi Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7875-3710
Alberto Guagliano CS Vascular Surgery, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5270-5593

Background: this work analyses the medical therapy adherence of patients enrolled in a clinical study. The primary end- point of this research is to find out if enrolment in a clinical study can improve adherence to antiplatelet and/or lipid- lowering therapy.
Materials and Methods: the first 92 asymptomatic patients with carotid artery stenosis ≥50% enrolled in the CARUSO study were considered. Overall baseline “compliance” to anti-platelet treatment was stratified in patients with good, average, and poor adherence.

Results: overall compliance with anti-platelet therapy was good for 66 patients (95.7%) out of 69 patients already under this treatment. A significant correlation between good adherence to pharmacological therapy and the presence of previ- ous cardiovascular events at the time of enrolment: 92.3% (one event), 84.6% (two events), 50% (three events) vs 35.1% of those without events (p<0.001). After 6 months, good adherence was found to extend even to patients with no previ- ous events (p=0.083).

Conclusions: this research showed a positive trend in improving adherence to lipid-lowering therapy (88.3% vs 56.7%, p=0.002) and maintenance of a high level (> 95%) of adherence to anti-platelet therapy, after the enrolment in a clinical study.

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Lanza, M., Aranzulla, T., Cassinari, A., Musumeci, G., Gaggiano, A., Farotto, M., Bertolina, C., Bertolotti, M., Maconi, A., & Guagliano, A. (2025). Medication adherence in patients with carotid artery stenosis before/after enrollment in CARUSO study. Working Paper of Public Health, 13. https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2025.10073

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Copyright (c) 2025 Michela Lanza, Tiziana Aranzulla, Antonella Cassinari, Giuseppe Musumeci, Andrea Gaggiano, Marianna Farotto, Carlotta Bertolina, Marinella Bertolotti, Antonio Maconi, Alberto Guagliano