Droxidopa Persistence in Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension May Be Affected by Titration Approach.

Droxidopa is approved for the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) symptoms and requires patients to be titrated to individualized effective doses (100-600 mg, three times daily) based on symptomatic response. As per the product label, droxidopa should be titrated every 24-48 hours to an optimum maintenance dose (maximum daily dosage 1,800 mg). In an examination of patients with nOH treated in clinical practice settings (n=4,506) using data from the central Northera specialty-pharmacy hub, titration schedules, daily titration dosage (ie, dosage during first dispensation, the assumed titration period), and daily maintenance dosage (dosage during subsequent dispensations) were characterized. It was found that customized titration schedules (ie, different from the product-label recommendation) had been used in 53% of patients, and these patients had had an average daily titration dosage of 567 mg. In contrast, patients who were titrated as per the label schedule (48 hours, 37%; 24 hours, 10%) had daily titration dosages of 1,500-1,650 mg. A relationship between treatment persistence (measured by number of refills) and maintenance dosage was identified. Average daily maintenance doses in patients who received 2, 3-6, 7-24, and >25 dispensations were 938, 969, 1,069, and 1,167 mg, respectively (