"Medicine, Faculty of"@en . "Non UBC"@en . "Medicine, Department of"@en . "Neurology, Division of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "BMC Research Notes. 2016 Mar 08;9(1):148"@en . "Devonshire et al."@en . "Devonshire, Virginia A"@en . "Feinstein, Anthony"@en . "Moriarty, Patrick"@en . "2018-05-16T20:53:17Z"@en . "2016-03-08"@en . "Background:\r\n In a multicentre, single-arm, observational, phase IV study, we evaluated 24-week treatment adherence of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) patients using an electronic auto-injection device (RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE) for subcutaneous injection of interferon (IFN) \u00CE\u00B2-1a.\r\n \r\n \r\n Methods:\r\n A total of 162 adult participants with RMS were enrolled into the study to use RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE to self-administer IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a 44\u00C2\u00A0\u00CE\u00BCg three times weekly for a maximum of 96\u00C2\u00A0weeks. The number of administered injections was recorded in the electronic device log. Adherence to treatment was defined as the administration of\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% of expected injections. Cognitive impairment and injection anxiety were assessed via questionnaires.\r\n \r\n \r\n Results:\r\n Overall, 91.8 and 82.9\u00C2\u00A0% of participants were adherent to treatment at weeks 12 and 24, respectively. By weeks 12 and 24, 8.2 and 13.9\u00C2\u00A0% of participants had discontinued treatment. There were no statistically significant differences in adherence rates at weeks 12 and 24 according to cognitive impairment status or injection anxiety. By week 24, 69.9\u00C2\u00A0% of participants were less fearful of injection than when they started the study. According to participant evaluations, the absence of a visible needle, comfort settings, and the calendar for tracking the injection schedule were all important features of the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injection system. At week 24, 99.3\u00C2\u00A0% of participants reported that they would like to continue using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE as their injector.\r\n \r\n \r\n Conclusions:\r\n RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE use is associated with high treatment adherence, as objectively assessed using electronic injection logs. Future research should examine if RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE use improves long-term treatment outcomes in RMS.\r\n \r\n This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT01128075, on May 20, 2010."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/65946?expand=metadata"@en . "Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 DOI 10.1186/s13104-016-1948-zRESEARCH ARTICLEAdherence to\u00C2\u00A0interferon \u00CE\u00B2-1a therapy using an electronic self-injector in\u00C2\u00A0multiple sclerosis: a multicentre, single-arm, observational, phase IV studyVirginia A. Devonshire1, Anthony Feinstein2 and Patrick Moriarty3*Abstract Background: In a multicentre, single-arm, observational, phase IV study, we evaluated 24-week treatment adherence of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) patients using an electronic auto-injection device (RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE) for subcutaneous injection of interferon (IFN) \u00CE\u00B2-1a.Methods: A total of 162 adult participants with RMS were enrolled into the study to use RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE to self-administer IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a 44 \u00CE\u00BCg three times weekly for a maximum of 96 weeks. The number of administered injections was recorded in the electronic device log. Adherence to treatment was defined as the administration of \u00E2\u0089\u00A580 % of expected injections. Cognitive impairment and injection anxiety were assessed via questionnaires.Results: Overall, 91.8 and 82.9 % of participants were adherent to treatment at weeks 12 and 24, respectively. By weeks 12 and 24, 8.2 and 13.9 % of participants had discontinued treatment. There were no statistically significant dif-ferences in adherence rates at weeks 12 and 24 according to cognitive impairment status or injection anxiety. By week 24, 69.9 % of participants were less fearful of injection than when they started the study. According to participant evaluations, the absence of a visible needle, comfort settings, and the calendar for tracking the injection schedule were all important features of the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injection system. At week 24, 99.3 % of participants reported that they would like to continue using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE as their injector.Conclusions: RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE use is associated with high treatment adherence, as objectively assessed using electronic injection logs. Future research should examine if RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE use improves long-term treatment outcomes in RMS.This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT01128075, on May 20, 2010.Keywords: Relapsing multiple sclerosis, Disease-modifying drugs, Adherence, Cognitive impairment, Injection anxiety\u00C2\u00A9 2016 Devonshire et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory degener-ative autoimmune disorder of the central\u00C2\u00A0nervous system, affects approximately 240 out of every 100,000 Canadians [1]. Relapsing forms of MS (RMS), including relapsing-remitting MS and secondary progressive MS, account for approximately 80\u00C2\u00A0 % of MS cases and are character-ized by progressive disability accrued through repeated disease relapses [2, 3]. Although MS remains incurable, it can be effectively managed via proper treatment with disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) such as \u00CE\u00B2-interferons [3]. When started early in the course of disease and main-tained continuously, DMD treatment can reduce relapse frequency, slow disability progression, and improve long-term prognosis [4, 5].Unfortunately, patient adherence to treatments for MS can be inconsistent, leading to poor treatment response Open AccessBMC Research Notes*Correspondence: Patrick.moriarty@emdserono.com 3 A division of EMD Inc., EMD Serono, 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 200, Mississauga, ON L5K 2N6, CanadaFull list of author information is available at the end of the articlePage 2 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 and suboptimal long-term patient outcomes. Adher-ence to medication is the extent to which patients take medications as prescribed by their health-care provider [6, 7]. While there is no consensus on an acceptable rate of adherence, studies in MS have defined 80\u00C2\u00A0% as a gen-eral threshold for maintaining treatment effectiveness [8]. Recent estimates suggest that 25\u00E2\u0080\u009339\u00C2\u00A0% of MS patients miss at least one injection within a 4-week period [9, 10], and only 52.2\u00E2\u0080\u009362.3\u00C2\u00A0% of MS patients are\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% adherent to their injectable treatment over a 12\u00E2\u0080\u009336-month period [8, 11]. In addition to intermittently missing treatment doses, a significant proportion of patients prematurely discontinue treatment within the first year. A recent Canadian report indicated cumulative discontinuation rates between 20.9 and 26.4\u00C2\u00A0 % at 6\u00C2\u00A0 months, 36.9 and 40.9\u00C2\u00A0% at 1\u00C2\u00A0year, and between 52.6 and 58.5\u00C2\u00A0% at 2\u00C2\u00A0years among a cohort of adult MS patients in Ontario [12]. Many patients who discontinue their initial treatment never reinitiate therapy [13]. Several studies have estab-lished that intermittently missed dosing and treatment interruptions are associated with significantly increased risks of disease relapse, hospitalization [5, 11], reduced quality of life [9], and increased health-care costs [11].MS patients may experience barriers to treatment adherence that include forgetfulness (reported by 50.2\u00C2\u00A0% of non-adherent patients) and injection-related issues (32\u00C2\u00A0%) such as injection anxiety, injection pain, injection fatigue, and skin reactions [9]. Fatigue, flu-like symptoms, and headache have been reported by 10\u00E2\u0080\u009315\u00C2\u00A0% of patients as additional reasons for non-adherence [9]. These chal-lenges may also play a role in treatment discontinuation. For instance, a poor injection experience, characterized by injection anxiety, injection pain, injection fatigue, or injection-site reactions, can lead to premature treatment discontinuation [14, 15].Symptoms of MS may present additional barriers to treatment adherence. For example, cognitive impairment affects 40\u00E2\u0080\u009365\u00C2\u00A0% of MS patients, sometimes presenting at the earliest stages of the disease [16]. Cognitive impair-ment can include deficits in several cognitive domains, including memory, and may impact patients\u00E2\u0080\u0099 ability to remain adherent to their medication [17]. Adherent patients have been found to have less neuropsychological impairment, as measured by the Multiple Sclerosis Neu-ropsychological Screening Questionnaire, compared to non-adherent patients [9].RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE, an electronic, hand-held, multidose, auto-injection device for IFN-\u00CE\u00B2-1a (Rebif\u00C2\u00AE), was designed to address the psychological and physical barriers to injection, thereby helping patients adhere to treatment [18]. RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE uses a multidose cartridge that con-tains three doses of 44\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B5g IFN-\u00CE\u00B2-1a and can be stored at room temperature for 4\u00C2\u00A0weeks [19], making injection preparation much simpler. The injection experience is improved by incorporating a needle that is never vis-ible to the patient and customizable injections settings, such as needle speed, injection speed, injection time, and needle depth. RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE incorporates an electronic dosing log and an alarm that reminds patients of previ-ous and upcoming injections, respectively. The dosing log captures completed, partial, and missed injections, allowing patients to see their adherence to treatment over the previous 4\u00C2\u00A0 weeks. The entire injection log can be uploaded to a computer, enabling physicians to objec-tively monitor adherence. Current research indicates that health-care professionals [20] and patients [21] rou-tinely overestimate adherence to treatment. An objective method of measuring treatment adherence would help clinicians determine whether breakthrough disease in a given patient is due to ineffective treatment or treatment non-adherence.The suitability of the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE device for self-injec-tion was evaluated in RMS patients in a phase IIIb study [22]. At week 12, 71.6\u00C2\u00A0% of patients considered the device \u00E2\u0080\u009Cvery suitable\u00E2\u0080\u009D or \u00E2\u0080\u009Csuitable\u00E2\u0080\u009D for injection. The majority of patients rated \u00E2\u0080\u009Coverall convenience\u00E2\u0080\u009D as the most impor-tant benefit of RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE. The objective of the current study was to evaluate 24-week treatment adherence in treatment-naive participants with RMS using Rebi-Smart\u00C2\u00AE. We assessed whether features of the device were effective in overcoming common barriers to treatment adherence.MethodsStudy designMEASURE is a multicentre, single-arm, observational, 96-week, phase IV study to evaluate treatment adherence when using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE for self-injection of subcutane-ous (sc) IFN-\u00CE\u00B2-1a in multidose cartridges in participants with relapsing multiple sclerosis (NCT01128075). The primary endpoint was evaluated when all participants had either completed 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks of treatment or discon-tinued MEASURE prior to 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks. Data at 48 and 96\u00C2\u00A0weeks will be reported at a later date.Participants were evaluated for study eligibility dur-ing a screening period of up to 28\u00C2\u00A0days. After enrolment, each participant attended a clinic visit on study day 1 (SD1) to complete baseline assessments, receive training on RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE, and administer his or her first injection under the supervision of the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE trainer. Partici-pants returned to the clinic for assessments at weeks 12 and 24 and were evaluated by telephone contact at weeks 4, 8 and 16.Participants were provided with a RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injector for the duration of the study and were trained by a nurse on proper use of the device and on standard practice Page 3 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 for rotating injection sites. Participants followed the IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a dose titration schedule presented in the Cana-dian Product Monograph: 8.8\u00C2\u00A0\u00CE\u00BCg tiw during weeks 1\u00E2\u0080\u00932, 22\u00C2\u00A0\u00CE\u00BCg in weeks 3\u00E2\u0080\u00934, and 44\u00C2\u00A0\u00CE\u00BCg tiw from week 5 onward [19]. Participants who could not tolerate the 44\u00C2\u00A0\u00CE\u00BCg dose following the titration period had their dose reduced to 22\u00C2\u00A0\u00CE\u00BCg tiw at the discretion of the treating physician. Pro-phylactic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs could be used for the treatment of flu-like symptoms. Partici-pants could withdraw from the study at any time. Upon a patient\u00E2\u0080\u0099s withdrawal, all assessments required at the early termination (ET) visit were completed at the earliest time possible.Study objectives and\u00C2\u00A0endpointsThe primary objective of this study was to evaluate treat-ment adherence over 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks when using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE for self-injection of Rebif\u00C2\u00AE in a multidose cartridge. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants at week 24 who were adherent to treatment, defined as having administered\u00C2\u00A0 \u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0 % of scheduled injections as recorded in the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injection log. A cut-off of\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% was used to define adherence consistently with most clinical trials [7]. Additionally, this level of adher-ence appears to correlate with reduced risk of severe relapse [5]. Treatment adherence over 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks was calculated as 100\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C3\u0097\u00C2\u00A0 the number of administered injec-tions recorded in the electronic device log, divided by the expected number of injections (72). Participants who dis-continued treatment before week 24 were included in the analyses of 24-week adherence, with all injections sched-uled after discontinuation considered missed injections.Secondary outcome measures also assessed at 24\u00C2\u00A0weeks included treatment persistence, treatment compliance, treatment adherence among cognitively impaired and non-impaired participants, longitudinal changes in injec-tion anxiety, and qualitative participant experiences with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE. Treatment persistence was calculated as the proportion of participants who remained on treat-ment at 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks following SD1. Treatment compli-ance at 24\u00C2\u00A0weeks was calculated as 100\u00C2\u00A0\u00C3\u0097\u00C2\u00A0the number of administered injections recorded in the electronic device log, divided by (the number of days on-study)\u00C2\u00A0\u00C3\u0097\u00C2\u00A03/7. It is important to note that the calculation of 24-week treat-ment adherence accounts for doses missed before and after treatment discontinuation (up to week 24), and the calculation of treatment compliance accounts only for those doses missed before treatment discontinuation, for those patients who discontinued treatment prior to week 24. To determine whether impaired cognitive function was associated with poorer adherence, 24-week adher-ence was compared between cognitively impaired and non-impaired participants. The change in anxiety was evaluated by comparing baseline anxiety scores of the hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale and the state\u00E2\u0080\u0093trait anxiety inventory (STAI) to those at weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24. Qualitative participant experience with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE was evaluated by assessing the change in score of individual questions as well as defined groups of questions in the patient experience questionnaire (PEQ) at weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24.ParticipantsAdult (18\u00E2\u0080\u009365\u00C2\u00A0 years old) participants with a confirmed diagnosis of RMS according to the 2005 McDonald crite-ria [23] were recruited from 19 community and academic centres across Canada to participate in MEASURE. Eth-ics approval was obtained from the institutional review boards at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC) and at each of the other participating centers. Partic-ipants were eligible to enrol if they had been prescribed sc IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a 44\u00C2\u00A0 \u00CE\u00BCg tiw according to the Canadian Prod-uct Monograph, were registered with the Rebif\u00C2\u00AE Mul-tiple Support Program, and had given written informed consent prior to the study screening period. Participants were excluded from the study if they had (1) been treated with any DMD prior to study enrolment, (2) received any other injectable medication on a regular basis in the week prior to screening and/or during the study, (3) experi-enced a relapse within 30\u00C2\u00A0days of screening, or (4) a visual or physical impairment that interfered with their ability to self-inject using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE.Data collection and\u00C2\u00A0analysesThe schedule of assessments until week 24 is summa-rized in Fig.\u00C2\u00A01. During the screening period, demographic data and medical history (including history of MS) were collected. A neurological examination and review of the inclusion/exclusion criteria were also completed. A neu-rological examination including expanded disability sta-tus scale (EDSS) score was completed again at week 24.Baseline cognitive function was assessed on SD1 using the following four tests from the short form of Rao\u00E2\u0080\u0099s brief repeatable battery (BRB): symbol digit modalities test (SDMT), the selective reminding test (SRT)-Long-Term Storage, the SRT-Consistent Long-Term Retrieval, and the 3-second paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT). These four tests have been previously identified as the most sensitive for detecting cognitive impairment among MS patients [24]. Participants were matched to a norma-tive sample from the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, using the following variables: age in years, total number of years of education, and sex. The test results from the normative sample were used to create cut-off values for each of the four tests. A failure for each test was defined as the mean minus 1.5 Page 4 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 times the standard deviation. Participants were consid-ered cognitively impaired if they failed two or more of the four tests.Anxiety was assessed on SD1 and at weeks 12 and 24 using the HAD scale and the STAI. The STAI measures temporary, situational anxiety (i.e., state anxiety) and daily, non-situational anxiety (i.e., trait anxiety) [25]. The STAI was administered immediately before injection to get an accurate assessment of the state anxiety asso-ciated with injection. The HAD scale is a 14-item scale that determines the level of anxiety and depression expe-rienced by a patient. The total score for the HAD scale anxiety subscale (HADS-A) can range from 0 to 21. We categorized the scores as 0\u00E2\u0080\u00937 for normal or no anxiety, 8\u00E2\u0080\u009310 for mild anxiety, 11\u00E2\u0080\u009314 for moderate anxiety, and 15\u00E2\u0080\u009321 for severe anxiety. The state and trait subscales of the STAI produce a range of scores between 20 and 80; a higher score indicates greater anxiety. As part of the PEQ, participants were asked to rate their fear of self-injection on SD1 and at weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24. Fear of injection was rated on a scale of 1\u00E2\u0080\u00935, as follows: not fearful (1), a little (2), moderately (3), a lot (4), and a great deal (5).The PEQ is a 16-item instrument evaluating both the participant\u00E2\u0080\u0099s experience with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE and side effects associated with the administration of Rebif\u00C2\u00AE. The PEQ consists of eight questions selected from the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Concern Questionnaire (MSTCQ) (four pertaining to injection-site reactions and four regarding flu-like symptoms) [22] plus eight questions pertaining to the use of RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE. The full PEQ was administered at weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24. Paired change was evaluated for each individual who responded to a PEQ item at week 4 and a later time point (week 12 or 24).Analysis populationsThe intent-to-treat (ITT) population comprised 162 participants who were enrolled in the study and had provided written informed consent. The modified ITT population (mITT; n\u00C2\u00A0 =\u00C2\u00A0 158), which comprised all ITT participants who received at least one IFN\u00C2\u00A0 \u00CE\u00B2-1a injec-tion recorded by the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE device, was used for all analyses.Statistical analysisNo hypothesis testing was conducted. A total of at least 139 participants were required to provide a 95\u00C2\u00A0% confi-dence interval (CI) equal to the sample proportion with 5\u00C2\u00A0% precision, based on the hypothesis that 90\u00C2\u00A0% of par-ticipants using the auto-injection device for 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks would administer 80\u00C2\u00A0 % of the scheduled injections. The 95\u00C2\u00A0% CIs were based on the Agresti\u00E2\u0080\u0093Coull for binomial proportions.The analytical approach for all endpoints was descrip-tive in nature. No corrections were made for multiple comparisons because the comparisons were intended Fig. 1 Schedule of study assessments. Asterisk assessments at weeks 4, 8, and 16 were done by telephone contact. The current report focuses on data up to week 24 of treatment. BRB brief repeatable battery, HAD hospital anxiety and depression scale, SD1 study day 1, STAI state\u00E2\u0080\u0093trait anxiety inventoryPage 5 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 to be hypothesis-generating. Nominal p values are pre-sented. Changes from baseline in anxiety measures were analyzed using a two-sided, paired t test or a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. Fisher\u00E2\u0080\u0099s exact test (two-sided) was used to compare\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% treatment adherence (yes/no) rates, while the Mann\u00E2\u0080\u0093Whitney U test (two-sided) was used to compare mean treatment adherence between impaired versus non-impaired participants as well as between participants with fear versus no fear of injection. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS System for Windows, Version 9.2 (Cary, NC).In addition, a post hoc logistic regression analysis was undertaken to identify potential associations in the mITT population between patient baseline characteristics (gen-der, cognitive impairment, PASAT, age, education level, months since MS diagnosis, months since MS symptoms, months since last relapse, EDSS, HADS-D, HADS-A, and STAI state and trait anxiety scores) and\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% treatment adherence at week 24. Continuous variables were dichot-omized as less than versus greater than or equal to the population median value.ResultsThe baseline demographic and disease characteristics of the 162 participants included in the ITT popula-tion are listed in Table\u00C2\u00A01. Participants had a mean\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0SD age of 37.4\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 9.8\u00C2\u00A0 years and were predominantly female (75.3\u00C2\u00A0 %) and Caucasian (94.4\u00C2\u00A0 %). Nearly all participants (96.3\u00C2\u00A0%) had RMS; the majority of participants (82.1\u00C2\u00A0%) had experienced between 1 and 3 relapses since the onset of MS symptoms, and the mean EDSS score of the study sample was 1.8\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A01.3. Baseline results of the four cogni-tive tests constituting a short form of Rao\u00E2\u0080\u0099s BRB showed that 47.8\u00C2\u00A0% of participants failed two or more of the four tests and, by our definition, were classified as cognitively impaired.Treatment adherence and compliance rates at weeks 12 and 24 for all participants with at least one injection using the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injector (mITT; n\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A0 158) are shown in Fig.\u00C2\u00A02. The proportion of participants with\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% adher-ence to treatment was 91.8\u00C2\u00A0 % (95\u00C2\u00A0 % CI 86.3, 95.2\u00C2\u00A0 %) at week 12 and 82.9\u00C2\u00A0 % (95\u00C2\u00A0 % CI 76.2, 88.0\u00C2\u00A0 %) at week 24. The proportion of participants with\u00C2\u00A0 \u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0 % compli-ance to treatment was 95.6\u00C2\u00A0 % (95\u00C2\u00A0 % CI 91.0, 98.0\u00C2\u00A0 %) at week 12 and 92.4\u00C2\u00A0 % (95\u00C2\u00A0 % CI 87.1, 95.7\u00C2\u00A0 %) at week 24. The mean\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 SD adherence rate of all participants was 95.7\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A011.6\u00C2\u00A0% at week 12 and 89.1\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A020.3\u00C2\u00A0% at week 24. The mean\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 SD compliance rate of participants was 97.6\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A06.9\u00C2\u00A0% at week 12 and 95.2\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A09.7 at week 24. Only 13 (8.2\u00C2\u00A0 %) participants discontinued treatment by the 12th week; by week 24 this number rose to 22 (13.9\u00C2\u00A0 %) participants. The reasons for treatment discontinuation at weeks 12 and 24 included participant withdrawal of consent (4 [30.8\u00C2\u00A0 %] and 7 [31.8\u00C2\u00A0 %], respectively), inves-tigator decision (2 [15.4\u00C2\u00A0%] and 4 [18.2\u00C2\u00A0%], respectively) and other (6 [46.2\u00C2\u00A0%] and 9 [40.95], respectively).Our data (Fig.\u00C2\u00A0 3) show that a similar proportion of cognitively impaired and unimpaired participants achieved\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% adherence to treatment at week 12 (88.1\u00C2\u00A0% Table 1 Baseline demographic and\u00C2\u00A0disease characteristics of\u00C2\u00A0ITT patient populationData presented as mean\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0standard deviation\u00C2\u00A0except as indicatedITT intent-to-treat, MS multiple sclerosisCharacteristic Result (n\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A0162)Demographics Age, years 37.4 \u00C2\u00B1 9.8Sex Male, n (%) 40 (24.7 %) Female, n (%) 122 (75.3 %)Race Caucasian, n (%) 153 (94.4 %) Black, n (%) 2 (1.2 %) Asian, n (%) 2 (1.2 %) Other, n (%) 5 (3.1 %) Education, total years completed 14.9 \u00C2\u00B1 3.3Disease characteristics MS classification Relapsing-remitting, n (%) 156 (96.3 %) Secondary progressive, n (%) 6 (3.7 %) Months since onset of MS symptoms 53.3 \u00C2\u00B1 76.1 Months since MS diagnosis 24.0 \u00C2\u00B1 57.6 Months since last relapse 6.4 \u00C2\u00B1 9.5Number of relapses since onset of MS symptoms, n (%) 0 6 (3.7 %) 1 44 (27.2 %) 2 55 (34.0 %) 3 34 (21.0 %) 4 12 (7.4 %) \u00E2\u0089\u00A55 11 (6.8 %) Expanded disability status scale (EDSS) Score 1.8 \u00C2\u00B1 1.3Cognitive function Symbol digit modalities test (SDMT) 51.0 \u00C2\u00B1 13.1 Patients failing test, n (%) 35 (22.9 %)Selective reminding test (SRT) Long-term storage 41.8 \u00C2\u00B1 15.5 Patients failing test, n (%) 61 (40.4 %) Consistent long-term retrieval 30.0 \u00C2\u00B1 15.8 Patients failing test, n (%) 59 (39.1 %)3-second paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) 42.8 \u00C2\u00B1 11.4 Patients failing test, n (%) 47 (31.3 %)Cognitively impaired (failing \u00E2\u0089\u00A52 of the above tests) 67 (47.8 %)Page 6 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 and 94.5\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A00.23) and week 24 (80.6 and 83.6\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A00.67). Similarly, there was no dif-ference in mean adherence rates at week 12 (94.3\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A014.3 and 96.8\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 8.7\u00C2\u00A0 %, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0 =\u00C2\u00A0 0.651) and week 24 (86.6\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A022.9 and 90.4\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A018.6\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A00.23) for cognitively impaired and unimpaired participants.91.8% 82.9% 95.6% 92.4% 0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%100.0%)851=n(42keeW)851=n(21keeWPropor\u001Bon of Par\u001Bcipants (%) Adherence \u00E2\u0089\u00A5 80% Compliance \u00E2\u0089\u00A5 80% Fig. 2 Proportion of participants with \u00E2\u0089\u00A580 % treatment adherence and compliance at week 12 and 24 (mITT population). Adherence calculated as 100 \u00C3\u0097 the number of administered injections recorded in the electronic device log divided by the expected number of injections (e.g., 72 injections over 24 weeks). Compliance calculated as 100 times the number of injections recorded in the electronic device log divided by (the number of days on-study) \u00C3\u0097 3/7. mITT modified intent-to-treatFig. 3 Proportion of participants with \u00E2\u0089\u00A580 % treatment adherence according to cognitive impairment at weeks 12 and 24 (mITT population). p value assessed via Fisher\u00E2\u0080\u0099s exact test. mITT modified intent-to-treatPage 7 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 The change in ratings of fear of injection at base-line, week 12, and week 24 are illustrated in Fig.\u00C2\u00A0 4. The proportion of participants reporting \u00E2\u0080\u009Cmoderate,\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca lot,\u00E2\u0080\u009D or \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca great deal\u00E2\u0080\u009D of injection fear at baseline was 48.3\u00C2\u00A0 %; this number declined to 18.7\u00C2\u00A0 % at week 12 and 16.0\u00C2\u00A0 % at week 24. Indeed, by week 24, 69.9\u00C2\u00A0 % of par-ticipants became less fearful of injection than they had been at SD1. Mean\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0SD pre-injection state anxiety also declined significantly, from SD1 (40.4\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 12.3) to week 12 (35.9\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 12.7; p\u00C2\u00A0 <\u00C2\u00A0 0.0001) and week 24 (36.6\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 12.9; p\u00C2\u00A0 <\u00C2\u00A0 0.0001). As illustrated in Fig.\u00C2\u00A0 5, similar proportions of participants with and without fear of injection at base-line achieved\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% adherence to treatment at week 12 (91.4\u00C2\u00A0 % vs. 92.1\u00C2\u00A0 %, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A0 1.00) and week 24 (81.5 vs. 84.2\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A00.68). Mean adherence rates were also similar between participants with versus those without baseline fear of injection at week 12 (96.1 vs. 95.2\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A00.322) and week 24 (89.0 vs. 89.0\u00C2\u00A0 %, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A0 0.901). Indeed, logistic regres-sion querying various patient baseline characteristics identified no significant associations between adher-ence and patient gender, age, education, cognitive func-tion, disease history, severity of impairment, anxiety or depression (data not shown).As listed in Table\u00C2\u00A0 2, mean\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 SD general anxiety, as assessed by the anxiety subscale score of the HAD scale, was significantly lower at weeks 12 and 24 by compari-son to baseline (5.8\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 4.3 and 5.9\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 4.1 vs. 7.0\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 4.1, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0<\u00C2\u00A00.0001 for both). Likewise, mean\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0SD trait anxiety was also significantly reduced from baseline to week 12 (38.8\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 10.9 and 36.7\u00C2\u00A0 \u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A0 12.1, respectively; p\u00C2\u00A0=\u00C2\u00A00.002).Injection-site reactions (questions 2\u00E2\u0080\u00935) and flu-like symptoms (questions 10\u00E2\u0080\u009313) were measured using ques-tions from the MSTCQ at weeks 4, 12, and 24 and are reported in Table\u00C2\u00A03. The flu-like symptom score declined from a mean score of 11.1 at week 4 to 10.1 at week 24, and the injection-site reaction score increased from 11.2 at week 4 to 12.4 at week 24.Patients\u00E2\u0080\u0099 experience and use of other features of Reb-iSmart\u00C2\u00AE was evaluated by additional questions within the PEQ. The proportion of participants reporting no pain or mild pain (PEQ question 6) was 53.2\u00C2\u00A0 % at week 4, 52.7\u00C2\u00A0% at week 12, and 49.6\u00C2\u00A0% at week 24/early termination. By week 24 or early termination, 63.3\u00C2\u00A0 % of participants reported (PEQ question 8) changing the comfort settings on RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE. Of the 42.1\u00C2\u00A0 % of participants who had changed the comfort settings by week 4, 50\u00C2\u00A0% reported \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca little\u00E2\u0080\u009D improvement in injec-tion experience, 20.3\u00C2\u00A0% reported \u00E2\u0080\u009Cmoderate\u00E2\u0080\u009D improve-ment, and 10.9\u00C2\u00A0 % reported \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca lot\u00E2\u0080\u009D or \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca great deal\u00E2\u0080\u009D of improvement. The majority of participants (63.2\u00C2\u00A0 %) reported using the device\u00E2\u0080\u0099s injection calendar (PEQ question 9) at week 4 (\u00E2\u0080\u009Ca little\u00E2\u0080\u009D [28.3\u00C2\u00A0%], \u00E2\u0080\u009Cmoderately\u00E2\u0080\u009D [17.1\u00C2\u00A0%], \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca lot\u00E2\u0080\u009D [11.2\u00C2\u00A0%], and \u00E2\u0080\u009Ca great deal\u00E2\u0080\u009D [6.6\u00C2\u00A0%]); by week 24, 46.7\u00C2\u00A0 % of participants continued using this feature. At week 24, nearly all participants (99.3\u00C2\u00A0 %) reported that they would like to continue using Fig. 4 Participant self-reported fear of injection at baseline, week 12, and week 24 (mITT population). Based on patient response to the following question: \u00E2\u0080\u009CPlease rate your current fear of self-injection.\u00E2\u0080\u009D mITT modified intent-to-treatPage 8 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE as their injector (PEQ question 16). The absence of a visible needle was reported by partici-pants as the most important feature of the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injection device (66.2\u00C2\u00A0%; PEQ question 14), followed by the injection comfort settings for improving injection experience (27.1\u00C2\u00A0 %), and lastly the injection calendar for tracking injection administration (6.8\u00C2\u00A0 %). Figure\u00C2\u00A0 6 shows that 52\u00C2\u00A0 % of participants reported the amount of time and preparation of their injection with Rebi-Smart\u00C2\u00AE was \u00E2\u0080\u009Cnot at all bothersome\u00E2\u0080\u009D at SD1. That pro-portion increased to 64.4\u00C2\u00A0% by week 12 and 71.5\u00C2\u00A0% by week 24 or early termination.DiscussionRebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE was specifically designed with features to assist patients in maintaining good adherence to Fig. 5 Proportion of participants with \u00E2\u0089\u00A580 % treatment adherence according to fear of injection at weeks 12 and 24 (mITT population). p value assessed via Fisher\u00E2\u0080\u0099s exact test. mITT modified intent-to-treatTable 2 Change in\u00C2\u00A0 anxiety during\u00C2\u00A0 treatment (mITT popu-lation)* p\u00C2\u00A0<\u00C2\u00A00.005 by comparison to baseline, as calculated by a paired t-testmITT modified intent-to-treatMeasure Baseline Week 12 Week 24Hospital anxiety and depression scale Anxiety subscale score(range 0\u00E2\u0080\u009321)7.0 \u00C2\u00B1 4.1 5.8 \u00C2\u00B1 4.3* 5.9 \u00C2\u00B1 4.1*State\u00E2\u0080\u0093trait anxiety inventory State anxiety subscale(range 20\u00E2\u0080\u009380)40.4 \u00C2\u00B1 12.3 35.9 \u00C2\u00B1 12.7* 36.6 \u00C2\u00B1 12.9* Trait anxiety subscale(range 20\u00E2\u0080\u009380)38.8 \u00C2\u00B1 10.9 36.7 \u00C2\u00B1 12.1* 37.6 \u00C2\u00B1 12.1Table 3 Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Concern Question-naire score for\u00C2\u00A0 subscales relating to\u00C2\u00A0 injection-site reac-tions and\u00C2\u00A0flu-like symptoms (mITT population)Injection-site reaction scoreFlu-like symptom scoreObserved Paired changeObserved Paired changeWeek 4 N (missing) 152 (5) \u00E2\u0080\u0093 152 (2) \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Mean (SD) 11.2 (3.6) \u00E2\u0080\u0093 11.1 (4.6) \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Median (range)12 (1\u00E2\u0080\u009320) \u00E2\u0080\u0093 12 (1\u00E2\u0080\u009320) \u00E2\u0080\u0093Week 12 N (missing) 149 (2) 144 (7) 148 (3) 143 (8) Mean (SD) 12.3 (3.0) 1.1 (2.8) 10.8 (4.2) \u00E2\u0080\u00930.2 (4.3) Median (range)13 (4\u00E2\u0080\u009320) 1 (\u00E2\u0088\u00926 to +12) 11 (1\u00E2\u0080\u009320) 0 (\u00E2\u0080\u009312 to +17)Week 24 N (missing) 137 (1) 133 (5) 137 (1) 133 (5) Mean (SD) 12.4 (3.0) 1.3 (3.1) 10.1 (4.3) \u00E2\u0080\u00930.8 (4.1) Median (range)13 (1\u00E2\u0080\u009318) 1 (\u00E2\u0088\u00928 to +14) 10 (1\u00E2\u0080\u009320) \u00E2\u0080\u00931 (\u00E2\u0080\u00933 to +1)Page 9 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 treatment so they can realize the full benefits of ther-apy. The primary objective of the MEASURE study was to evaluate treatment adherence of RMS participants using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE for self-injection of sc IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a at 24\u00C2\u00A0weeks. Our results show that the majority of partici-pants achieved\u00C2\u00A0 \u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0 % adherence with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE and exhibited compliance and discontinuation rates that are superior to other methods of injection for DMDs and very similar to oral DMDs [9, 10, 26]. Additionally, our findings revealed a high level of participant acceptance of the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE device.As objectively recorded by the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE dosing log at weeks 12 and 24, 91.8\u00C2\u00A0 % (95\u00C2\u00A0 % CI 86.3, 95.2\u00C2\u00A0 %) and 82.9\u00C2\u00A0% (95\u00C2\u00A0% CI 76.2, 88.0\u00C2\u00A0%) of RMS participants, respec-tively, achieved good adherence, as defined by adminis-tration of\u00C2\u00A0 \u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0 % of the planned doses. Our adherence data are in agreement with the 12-week, open-label BRIDGE study, which included 119 Italian RMS patients using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE for self-injection of sc IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a [27]. In that trial, 88.2\u00C2\u00A0% of patients achieved good treatment adherence over a 12-week period; medical reasons and forgetfulness were the main causes of missed doses. This level of adherence compares favourably with the esti-mated 61\u00E2\u0080\u009375\u00C2\u00A0 % of MS patients who self-report being adherent to traditional injectable DMD therapy [9, 10], as well as the 58.5\u00E2\u0080\u009362.3\u00C2\u00A0% of MS patients who regularly refill their prescriptions for injectable DMD therapy over the long-term [8, 11]. Additionally, the level of adher-ence with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE reported herein is close to that reported for oral medication use among patients with other chronic diseases (93.0\u00C2\u00A0%) [26].The proportion of participants with\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% compliance to treatment was 95.6\u00C2\u00A0% at week 12 and 92.4\u00C2\u00A0% at week 24; these rates also compare favourably with compli-ance\u00C2\u00A0\u00E2\u0089\u00A580\u00C2\u00A0% at week 12 among 96.3\u00C2\u00A0% of patients in the BRIDGE study. Furthermore, only 13.9\u00C2\u00A0% of participants had discontinued treatment with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE by week 24, by comparison to an estimated 20.9\u00E2\u0080\u009326.4\u00C2\u00A0 % of MS patients who discontinue DMD therapy within 6\u00C2\u00A0months of treatment initiation [12]. Based on comparisons with available literature, MS treatment with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE appears to produce superior adherence and persistence rates relative to other injection methods.Several features of RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE may contribute to the high level of treatment adherence and compliance doc-umented in this study. Approximately half of partici-pants (48.4\u00C2\u00A0%) reported some degree of fear of injection at baseline, a known risk factor for poor adherence [9, 28]. In order to overcome this common treatment bar-rier, the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE auto-injector employs a concealed needle that cannot be seen by patients before or after the injection. Additionally, in order to reduce poten-tial injection-site pain, the device includes an adjustable injection comfort setting that allows for adjustment of 52.0% 64.4% 71.4% 31.6% 26.8% 20.4% 11.2% 5.4% 4.4% 3.9% 2.0% 3.6% %3.1%3.1 0.0% 0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%Baseline (n=157) Week 12 (n=151) Week 24 (n=138)Propor\u001Bon of par\u001Bcipants (%) 1 Not at all bothersome 2 3 4 5 Very bothersome Fig. 6 Patient self-reported degree of \u00E2\u0080\u009Cbother\u00E2\u0080\u009D associated with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE use (mITT population) Based on patient response to the following ques-tion: \u00E2\u0080\u009CHow bothersome was the amount of time and preparation it took to get everything ready for your Rebif\u00C2\u00AE injection with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE?\u00E2\u0080\u009DPage 10 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 needle speed, injection speed, depth, and duration. Par-ticipants in the current trial identified the absence of a visible needle as the most important benefit of the Rebi-Smart\u00C2\u00AE auto-injector, followed by the comfort settings for improving injection experience. By weeks 12 and 24, two-thirds (66.9 and 69.9\u00C2\u00A0 %, respectively) of RMS par-ticipants became less fearful of injection than they had been at baseline. Additionally, participants\u00E2\u0080\u0099 baseline anxi-ety level prior to injection was also reduced by weeks 12 and 24 of treatment (from 40.4\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A012.3 to 35.9\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A012.7 and 36.6\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A012.9, respectively). Interestingly, treatment adher-ence at weeks 12 and 24 was equally high among partici-pants who had expressed anxiety at baseline compared with those who had not (96.1 vs. 95.2\u00C2\u00A0% at week 12 and 89.0 vs. 89.0\u00C2\u00A0% at week 24). Our data suggest the hidden needle and injection comfort settings may contribute to reducing injection fear and anxiety and maintaining good adherence and compliance.MS affects several aspects of cognitive function includ-ing processing speed, executive function, and memory [16, 29]. Here, 47.6\u00C2\u00A0% of RMS patients had some degree of cognitive dysfunction at baseline. The proportion of participants with cognitive dysfunction in our sample is in general agreement with previously reported esti-mates in this population (40\u00E2\u0080\u009365\u00C2\u00A0%) [16]. Forgetfulness, a dimension of cognitive impairment, has been previously identified as a major reason for poor adherence to MS therapy [9]. The injection calendar and an optional injec-tion reminder alarm are RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE features designed to overcome forgetfulness. We did not observe an influence of cognitive impairment on treatment adherence. Cog-nitively impaired and non-impaired RMS participants achieved similar rates of mean adherence to sc IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a administered with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE at weeks 12 (94.3\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A014.3 and 96.8\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A08.7\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively) and 24 (86.6\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A022.9 and 90.4\u00C2\u00A0\u00C2\u00B1\u00C2\u00A018.6\u00C2\u00A0%, respectively). This finding agrees with the BRIDGE study, which reported no association between cognitive function, as assessed by PASAT score, and adherence to RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE sc IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a treatment at 12\u00C2\u00A0 weeks [27]. These findings suggest features of Rebi-Smart\u00C2\u00AE may help participants overcome the barrier of cognitive impairment and achieve good adherence and compliance.Objective adherence monitoring using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE may also contribute to improved treatment adherence for participants. While self-report is a convenient method for ascertaining treatment adherence, MS participants tend to overestimate their level of adherence [30]. Thus, treatment failure due to poor adherence may be misin-terpreted by physicians as a lack of treatment efficacy, leading to unnecessary dose escalation or treatment change. RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE is the first injection device used in MS that provides an accurate record of dosing history. While the dosing history log was rated by participants in an earlier study as the least useful feature of the Rebi-Smart\u00C2\u00AE device [31], this function can be of great utility to physicians. The log, which can be readily downloaded onto the physician\u00E2\u0080\u0099s computer, provides an up-to-date, objective measure of a participant\u00E2\u0080\u0099s treatment adherence, thereby overcoming the limitations inherent in patient self-report.Our findings also revealed a high level of acceptance of the device, with almost all participants (99.3\u00C2\u00A0 %) report-ing at 24\u00C2\u00A0 weeks that they would like to continue using RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE as their injector. This observation agrees with prior patient rating studies that showed RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE is generally well-accepted by RMS patients [22, 31]. For instance, a prior multicentre, open-label, observational, phase IV study in the UK and Ireland observed that 92\u00C2\u00A0% of RMS patients liked using the device. Convenience and ease of use have been frequently reported by RMS partic-ipants as the major benefits of RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE [22, 31]. In the current study, 71.5\u00C2\u00A0% of participants indicated that injec-tion with RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE was convenient.The current study has a number of limitations. As the MEASURE study lacked a control or active comparator group, it is not possible to generalize the current findings beyond the population of patients receiving sc IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a via the RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE injection system. In addition, since p values in our exploratory analyses were not corrected for multiple comparisons, the statistical significance of our secondary outcomes should be interpreted with caution. Finally, while 24\u00C2\u00A0weeks of follow-up currently represents the longest report of treatment adherence, longer-term follow-up data from the MEASURE study, extending to 96\u00C2\u00A0weeks of treatment, is forthcoming.ConclusionsThe RebiSmart\u00C2\u00AE auto-injection device addresses a num-ber of known barriers to MS treatment adherence and is well received by RMS patients. The use of an electronic auto-injector for administration of IFN \u00CE\u00B2-1a is associated with good treatment adherence at 6\u00C2\u00A0months among four in five RMS patients, regardless of cognitive function or fear of injection at baseline. Future analyses from this trial will determine whether these encouraging adher-ence rates correspond with a reduction in the frequency of relapse and a delay in disability progression.Authors\u00E2\u0080\u0099 contributionsVAD, AF, and PM conceived of the study, performed the statistical analysis, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Author details1 Department of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. 2 Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 3 A division of EMD Inc., EMD Serono, 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 200, Mississauga, ON L5K 2N6, Canada. Page 11 of 11Devonshire et al. BMC Res Notes (2016) 9:148 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 We accept pre-submission inquiries \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Our selector tool helps you to find the most relevant journal\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 We provide round the clock customer support \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Convenient online submission\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Thorough peer review\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Inclusion in PubMed and all major indexing services \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Maximum visibility for your researchSubmit your manuscript atwww.biomedcentral.com/submitSubmit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and we will help you at every step:AcknowledgementsWe thank Peter Janiszewski, PhD and John Ashkenas, PhD of SCRIPT (Toronto, Canada) for providing medical writing services and Chris Sigouin, PhD of Numbers Now Inc. for additional statistical analyses on behalf of EMD Serono. 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Patient assessment of an electronic device for subcutaneous self-injection of interferon beta-1a for multiple sclerosis: an observational study in the UK and Ireland. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2012;6:55\u00E2\u0080\u009361."@en . "Article"@en . "10.14288/1.0366891"@en . "eng"@en . "Reviewed"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "BioMed Central"@en . "10.1186/s13104-016-1948-z"@en . "Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)"@en . "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"@en . "Faculty"@en . "Relapsing multiple sclerosis"@en . "Disease-modifying drugs"@en . "Adherence"@en . "Cognitive impairment"@en . "Injection anxiety"@en . "Adherence to interferon \u00CE\u00B2-1a therapy using an electronic self-injector in multiple sclerosis: a multicentre, single-arm, observational, phase IV study"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/65946"@en .