Efficacy, Practicality, and Safety of Inhaled Methoxyflurane in Elderly Patients with Acute Trauma Pain: Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized, Controlled, Multicenter, Open-Label Trial (MEDITA).

PURPOSE: Acute trauma pain management in the elderly population is a challenge. Inhaled methoxyflurane represents a promising treatment option; however, data in the elderly population are limited. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subgroup, post hoc analysis including 69 patients aged ≥65 years from a randomized, active-controlled, open-label study in the emergency setting. Key inclusion criterion was moderate-to-severe pain (Numerical Rating Scale [NRS] score ≥ 4]) secondary to trauma in a single limb. Patients received inhaled methoxyflurane (3 mL) or standard analgesic treatment (SAT; IV paracetamol 1 g or ketoprofen 100 mg for moderate pain [NRS 4-6] and IV morphine 0.1mg/kg for severe pain [NRS ≥7]). The primary endpoint was the overall change in visual analog scale (VAS) pain intensity from randomization to the next 3, 5, and 10 min. Secondary endpoints included time to onset of pain relief (TOPR), efficacy up to 30 min, judgment of operators and patients, and safety. RESULTS: Pain reduction over time was similar in both groups. Median TOPR was shorter for methoxyflurane (9 min; 95% CI: 7.8, 10.2 min) than SAT (15 min; 95% CI: 10.2, 19.8 min). In terms of treatment satisfaction, patients and operators rated treatment efficacy and practicality, respectively, as "Excellent" or "Very good" 5.7 times and 3.4 times more frequently than SAT. A similar rate of adverse events (methoxyflurane: 6 events; SAT: 7 events) was recorded, all non-serious. No clinically significant changes in vital signs parameters were observed, and methoxyflurane did not result in cases of bradycardia or hypotension. CONCLUSION: In elderly patients with trauma pain, inhaled methoxyflurane shows similar pain relief and safety compared to SAT, offering advantages in terms of onset of effect and user's satisfaction. Although this analysis presents some methodological limitations, it provides the first specific evidence of the use of inhaled methoxyflurane in the elderly population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT number: 2017-001565-25; Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03585374.

Inhaled Methoxyflurane versus Intravenous Morphine for Severe Trauma Pain in the Emergency Setting: Subgroup Analysis of MEDITA, a Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled, Open-Label Trial.

PURPOSE: Opioid analgesics remain the cornerstone of treatment for severe trauma pain in the emergency setting, but there are barriers to their use. This post hoc analysis of a previously reported trial (MEDITA) investigated the efficacy and safety of low-dose methoxyflurane versus intravenous (IV) morphine for severe trauma pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MEDITA was a Phase IIIb, randomized, active-controlled, parallel-group, open-label study in Italian pre-hospital units and emergency departments (EudraCT: 2017-001565-25; NCT03585374). Adult patients (N=272) with moderate-to-severe trauma pain (score ≥4 on the Numerical Rating Scale [NRS]) were randomized 1:1 to inhaled methoxyflurane (3 mL) or standard analgesic treatment (SAT; IV paracetamol 1g or ketoprofen 100mg for moderate pain [NRS 4-6] and IV morphine 0.1mg/kg for severe pain [NRS ≥7]). Analyses were performed for the severe pain subgroup. The primary efficacy variable was the overall change from baseline in visual analog scale (VAS) pain intensity at 3, 5 and 10min post-randomization. Non-inferiority of methoxyflurane versus morphine was concluded if the upper 95% confidence interval (CI) for the treatment difference was <1; superiority was concluded if the upper 95% CI was <0. RESULTS: Ninety-three patients (methoxyflurane: 49; SAT: 44) were included in the severe pain intention-to-treat population. The reduction in VAS pain intensity over the first 10min was superior for methoxyflurane versus morphine (adjusted mean treatment difference: -5.54mm; 95% CI: -10.49, -0.59mm; p=0.029). Median time to onset of pain relief was 9min for methoxyflurane and 15min for morphine. Patients rated treatment efficacy and physicians rated treatment practicality "Excellent" or "Very good" for more methoxyflurane-treated patients (42.8% and 67.3%) than morphine-treated patients (18.1% and 22.8%). Adverse events, all non-serious, were reported in 20.4% of methoxyflurane-treated patients and in 4.8% of morphine-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Methoxyflurane provided superior short-term pain relief to IV morphine in patients with severe trauma pain and offers an effective non-narcotic treatment option.

Analgesic Efficacy, Practicality and Safety of Inhaled Methoxyflurane Versus Standard Analgesic Treatment for Acute Trauma Pain in the Emergency Setting: A Randomised, Open-Label, Active-Controlled, Multicentre Trial in Italy (MEDITA).

INTRODUCTION: Inhaled low-dose methoxyflurane is approved in Europe for emergency relief of moderate-to-severe trauma-related pain in adults, but data versus active comparators are sparse. The phase IIIb Methoxyflurane in Emergency Department in ITAly (MEDITA) trial investigated the analgesic efficacy, practicality and safety of methoxyflurane versus standard analgesic treatment (SAT) for acute trauma pain. METHODS: This was a randomised, active-controlled, parallel-group, open-label trial conducted in 15 Italian emergency units. Adults with limb trauma and pain score ≥ 4 on numerical rating scale (NRS) were randomised 1:1 to inhaled methoxyflurane 3 mL or SAT [intravenously administered (IV) morphine 0.1 mg/kg for severe pain (NRS ≥ 7); IV paracetamol 1 g or IV ketoprofen 100 mg for moderate pain (NRS 4-6)]. The primary endpoint was overall change in visual analogue scale (VAS) pain intensity from baseline (time of randomisation) to 3, 5 and 10 min. Non-inferiority and superiority of methoxyflurane versus SAT were concluded if the upper 95% confidence interval (CI) for the treatment comparison (methoxyflurane-SAT) was less than 1 and less than 0, respectively. RESULTS: Between 8 February 2018 and 8 February 2019, 272 patients were randomised (136 per treatment group). A total of 270 patients (mean age 51 years; 49% male; 34% with severe pain; mean baseline VAS 67 mm) were treated and analysed for efficacy and safety. Superiority of methoxyflurane was demonstrated for moderate-to-severe pain (adjusted mean treatment difference - 5.94 mm; 95% CI - 8.83, - 3.06 mm), moderate pain (- 5.97 mm; 95% CI - 9.55, - 2.39 mm) and severe pain (- 5.54 mm; 95% CI - 10.49, - 0.59 mm). Median onset of pain relief was 9 min for methoxyflurane and 15 min for SAT. Practicality of methoxyflurane treatment was rated "Excellent", "Very Good" or "Good" by 90% of clinicians vs. 64% for SAT. Adverse events (all non-serious) were reported by 17% of methoxyflurane-treated patients and 3% of SAT-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Methoxyflurane provided superior pain relief to SAT in patients with moderate-to-severe trauma pain and may offer a simple, fast, effective non-opioid treatment option. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registered with EudraCT (2017-001565-25) on 2 March 2018 and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03585374) on 13 July 2018. FUNDING: Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals S.r.l.

Methoxyflurane Versus Standard of Care for Acute Trauma-Related Pain in the Emergency Setting: Protocol for a Randomised, Controlled Study in Italy (MEDITA).

INTRODUCTION: Low-dose methoxyflurane, administered via a hand-held inhaler, has been used for short-term pain relief in emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand for over 40 years, and was recently approved in Europe for the rapid relief of moderate-to-severe trauma-related pain in adults. There is currently a lack of data for methoxyflurane versus active comparators, therefore this trial will investigate the efficacy and safety of inhaled methoxyflurane compared with standard of care (SoC) in the treatment of acute trauma-related pain in pre-hospital and ED settings in Italy. METHODS: MEDITA (Methoxyflurane in Emergency Department in ITAly) is a Phase IIIb, prospective, randomised, active-controlled, parallel-group, open-label, multicentre trial. A total of 272 adult patients with moderate-to-severe pain [score ≥ 4 on the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)] due to limb trauma will be randomised 1:1 to receive 3 mL methoxyflurane (self-administered by the patient via inhalation under supervision of a trained person) or medications that currently comprise the SoC in Italy [intravenous (IV) morphine for severe pain (NRS ≥ 7); IV paracetamol or ketoprofen for moderate pain (NRS 4-6)], administered as soon as possible after randomisation. PLANNED OUTCOMES: Pain intensity will be measured using a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline (time of randomisation) and at intervals up to 30 min. Time of onset of pain relief as reported by the patient and use of rescue medication will be recorded. The patient will rate the efficacy and the healthcare professional will rate the practicality of study treatment at 30 min after randomisation using a 5-point Likert scale. Adverse events will be recorded until safety follow-up at 14 ± 2 days. Vital signs will be measured at baseline, 10 and 30 min. The primary aim is to demonstrate non-inferiority of methoxyflurane versus SoC for the change in VAS pain intensity from baseline (randomisation) to 3, 5 and 10 min. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT number: 2017-001565-25. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03585374. FUNDING: Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals srl.

Modeling overdispersion heterogeneity in differential expression analysis using mixtures.

Next-generation sequencing technologies now constitute a method of choice to measure gene expression. Data to analyze are read counts, commonly modeled using negative binomial distributions. A relevant issue associated with this probabilistic framework is the reliable estimation of the overdispersion parameter, reinforced by the limited number of replicates generally observable for each gene. Many strategies have been proposed to estimate this parameter, but when differential analysis is the purpose, they often result in procedures based on plug-in estimates, and we show here that this discrepancy between the estimation framework and the testing framework can lead to uncontrolled type-I errors. Instead, we propose a mixture model that allows each gene to share information with other genes that exhibit similar variability. Three consistent statistical tests are developed for differential expression analysis. We show through a wide simulation study that the proposed method improves the sensitivity of detecting differentially expressed genes with respect to the common procedures, since it reaches the nominal value for the type-I error, while keeping elevate discriminative power between differentially and not differentially expressed genes. The method is finally illustrated on prostate cancer RNA-Seq data.