OBJECTIVES: During 1/1/-3/31/2022, SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 (CoVID-19 OBA.1) was pandemic in USA. Two study objectives are to determine if CoVID-19 OBA.1 was associated with a change in: (1) adherence to thalidomide or its analogues (Ta) plus dexamethasone (TaD) used to treat multiple myeloma (MM) patients serviced by specialty pharmacy medication therapy management (SPMTM) and (2) patient-reported quality of life (QOL).

METHODS: A retrospective, observational, pre-/post-design study of MM patient adherence to oral TaD and associated QoL was conducted at beginning of and during CoVID-19 OBA.1 pandemic. Patient assessments (PA) occurred at start of care (SOC) and follow-up (F-U) 7 days before dispenses. PA included EQ-5D-5L QoL metrics. Descriptive statics used to calculate QoL dimensional means before and after starting TaD and then on F-U SPMTM. Differences in means represented patient perceived changes in QoL. The medication possession ratio (MPR) was calculated using the F-U from both the Pre- and During-CoVID-19 OBA.1.

RESULTS: MPR = 0.99 prior to index time and was 0.96 During-CoVID-19 OBA.1 (3.03%). 219 PA were done During-CoVID-19 OBA.1 (94 MM patients, 40 SOC, 179 F-U). Differences in QoL means Pre- vs During-CoVID-19 OBA.1 were: Mobility -0.0036 (0.36%), Self-Care +0.0002 (0.02%), Usual Activities -0.0001 (0.001%), Pain/Discomfort -0.002 (0.2%), Anxiety/Depression +0.0018 (0.18%), Overall Health State +0.0157 (1.57%). Note: “-” = improvement; ”+”=worsened in Dimensions 1-5; “+” = improvement and ”-“ = worsened in Overall Health state. Percentages = absolute values.

CONCLUSIONS: During-CoVID-19 MPR decreased by 3.03% compared to Pre-CoVID-19 OBA.1. Pre- and During-CoVID-19 OBA.1 MPR were higher than the industry standard of >0.9.⁵ Ta have FDA REMS requirements which may have contributed to MPRs being > standard.⁶ On average, patients reported QoL on Mobility, Self-Care and Anxiety/Depression worsened but improved on Usual Activities and Pain/Discomfort. Over-all Health rating improved slightly. Explanations for worsened QoL metrics are discussed.⁷ Additional studies are suggested.