Patient Satisfaction With Belatacept Therapy: A Single-Center, Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The efficacy of belatacept for maintenance immunosuppression after kidney transplantation is well-established in the literature. Although this medication is being increasingly used as a strategy to avoid calcineurin inhibitors, which are associated with numerous adverse effects, patient satisfaction with monthly belatacept infusions is not well understood. Methods: We administered a validated treatment satisfaction tool (SATMED-Q) to kidney transplant recipients aged 17 to 85 years, who were receiving monthly belatacept infusions at a single health system-affiliated infusion center. Results: A total of 74 patients were approached for the study, and 70 completed the survey. The overall satisfaction score was 86.6/100. Scores for satisfaction with medical follow-up and impact on everyday life were 96.9 and 76.7, respectively. Patients also reported high scores in relation to side effects (94.2), general opinion (94.1), and convenience (81.8). Conclusions: Patients with kidney transplants reported very high satisfaction scores with belatacept use, with almost 100% patients intending to continue belatacept therapy.