An open-label study of belumosudil, a selective ROCK2 inhibitor, as second or subsequent line of therapy for steroid-dependent/steroid-resistant chronic GVHD.

Belumosudil mesylate is a selective Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 inhibitor with immunomodulatory and antifibrosis effects. This multicenter, open-label, single-arm study evaluated belumosudil 200 mg once daily as second or subsequent line of therapy (LOT) in 21 Japanese patients ≥12 years of age with steroid-dependent/steroid-resistant chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The primary endpoint of best overall response rate (ORR) at 24 weeks after enrollment of the last patient was 85.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.7-97.0), and the lower limit of the 95% CI exceeded the pre-defined threshold of 25%. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of duration of response rate at 24 weeks was 75% (95% CI: 46-90); 13/18 responders (72.2%) had a sustained response for ≥20 weeks. The median time to response was 4.1 weeks (range 3.90-8.10); ORR was 47.6% at 4 weeks and 75.0% at 24 weeks; best ORR was 80% for joints/fascia, 66.7% for the mouth, and 54.5% for skin. Overall, 57.1% of patients had clinically meaningful symptom improvement at least once; the median duration of symptom improvement was 22.2 weeks (range 4.0-51.3). Corticosteroid dose reductions were recorded for 57.1% of patients. Median failure-free and overall survival were not reached. Treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 85.7% of patients (most commonly diarrhea, 19.0%), of which 38.1% were drug-related. There were no drug-related discontinuations or deaths. In summary, belumosudil 200 mg once daily as second or subsequent LOT in Japanese patients with steroid-dependent/steroid-resistant cGVHD was effective, with no new safety concerns.

Factors affecting the antimicrobial changes during treatment for acute otitis media in Japan: A retrospective cohort study using classification and regression trees (CART) analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Factors that affect the change of first-line antimicrobial agents were investigated to further promote their appropriate use. METHODS: This descriptive study used an electronic medical records database. Total 16,353 of the 199,896 patients enrolled between 1996 and 2019 met the inclusion criteria and formed the overall pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) cohort. The factors leading to the change in first-line antimicrobial agents within 14 days were analyzed using classification and regression trees (CART) analysis. RESULTS: This antimicrobial treatment cohort, involved 4860 cases of AOM alone and 9567 cases of AOM with other diseases. The size of the medical facility based on number of beds and historical duration of patient registration impacted on antimicrobial changes. CONCLUSIONS: The current results show that hospital-wide or nation-wide antimicrobial stewardship promotion could be the most influencing factor for antimicrobial changes. Particularly in cases of AOM where other diseases coexist, a more accurate diagnosis and definition of treatment failure of first-line drug are suggested to be important while establishing future treatment strategies. The current study is important to promote appropriate antimicrobial use for AOM treatment.

Improvement in the appropriate antimicrobial usage for treating pediatric acute otitis media in Japan: A descriptive study using nation-wide electronic medical record data.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated changes in prescriptions for antimicrobial agents to treat children with acute otitis media (AOM). METHODS: A descriptive study using an electronic medical record database. Of 199,896 patients enrolled between 2001 and 2019, a total of 10,797 were aged <16 years and had AOM as their first and primary disease (overall pediatric AOM cohort). In addition, 4786 patients with AOM without other comorbidities (pediatric AOM cohort) were included. RESULTS: In the overall pediatric AOM cohort, the age distribution ranged from 11% to 23% for those younger than 2 years and from 66% to 77% for those younger than 6 years, with no change over time. In the pediatric AOM cohort, the antimicrobial prescription rate was 91% in 2001 but declined to 40% by 2019. Antimicrobial use increased from 0% to 75% for penicillins, whereas use of cephalosporins decreased from 84% to 10%. The prescription rate for acetaminophen alone increased from 33% to 58%. There were no differences in the incidence of adverse reactions among the prescribed antimicrobials. CONCLUSIONS: Due to education efforts and promotion of the proper use of antimicrobials through means such as the Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute otitis media in children (2006) and the Manual of Antimicrobial Stewardship (2016), a change in the use of antimicrobials occurred, leading to a trend to more proper use of these agents.

[Evaluation of safety and efficacy of tebipenem pivoxil granules for pediatric in pneumonia, otitis media and sinusitis].

We conducted a postmarketing surveillance of tebipenem pivoxil granules (Orapenem® fine granules 10% for pediatric), an oral carbapenem antibacterial agent, between April 2010 and March 2013 to evaluate the safety and efficacy in patients with pneumonia or otitis media, or sinusitis Of 3,547 patients enrolled, 3,540 from whom survey forms were collected were analyzed. Of these 3,540 patients, there were a total of 3,331 patients included in the safety analysis, 2,844 in the efficacy analysis, 2,769 in the clinical efficacy analysis, and 461 in the bacteriological efficacy analysis. The incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was 9.97% (332/3,331 patients), and the major ADRs were gastrointestinal disorders including diarrhoea in 317 patients (9.52%). Diarrhoea was reported in 313 patients (316 events), which were not clinically significant and 94.9% (297/313 patients) were recovery and/or remission. The overall clinical efficacy rate was 94.0% (2,604/2,769 patients). The clinical efficacy rate by the type of infection was 95.6% (415/434 patients) for pneumonia, 93.7% (1,389/1,482 patients) for otitis media and 93.6% (659/704 patients) for sinusitis. The eradication rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis which are major causative organisms in pediatric infection of pneumonia, otitis media and sinusitis were 94.4% (134/142 strains), 92.2% (130/141 strains) and 97.8% (45/46 strains), respectively. The compliance was good in 83.1% of the patients (2,767/3,331 patients). Overall, Orapenem® fine granules 10% for pediatric showed good safety, efficacy, and compliance. These results indicate that Orapenem® fine granules 10% for pediatric is a useful agent in pediatrics with pneumonia or otitis media, or sinusitis.

Circadian rhythm of urinary potassium excretion in patients with CKD.

AIMS: We previously reported in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) that the circadian rhythms of blood pressure (BP) and urinary sodium excretion were both impaired into non-dipper pattern as renal function deteriorated. However, the circadian rhythm of urinary potassium excretion has not been studied in relation to renal dysfunction. METHODS: BP and urinary excretion rates of sodium (UNaV) and potassium (UKV) were evaluated for daytime and nighttime to estimate their circadian rhythms in 83 subjects with CKD. RESULTS: As renal function deteriorated, night/day ratios of UNaV and UKV were both increased. Night/day ratio of UKV was positively correlated with night/day ratio of UNaV (r = 0.60, p < 0.0001). Multiple regression analysis (R2 = 0.37, p < 0.0001) revealed that night/day ratio of UKV was determined independently by the night/day ratio of UNaV (r = -0.55, p < 0.0001), rather than renal function or night/day ratio of BP. CONCLUSIONS: Circadian rhythm of natriuresis was regulated by renal function and night/day ratio of BP. On the other hand, the circadian rhythm of urinary potassium excretion was primarily determined by neither renal function nor BP, but was correlated with that of urinary sodium excretion.

[Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of cefditoren pivoxil fine granules for pediatric use in pediatric patients with laryngopharyngitis and tonsillitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes].

Rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis are known to occur secondary to infection with Streptococcus pyogenes, and early elimination of the Streptococcus pyogenes by treatment with an appropriate antibiotic is required. Treatment with penicillins for 10 days has been recommended for Streptococcus pyogenes infections, but cephems are also now being used, and cefditoren pivoxil (CDTR-PI) is listed as one of the recommended drugs in the Guidelines for the Management of Respiratory Infectious Disease in Children in Japan 2007. We therefore conducted this study in order to collect appropriate use information in the clinical setting of CDTR-PI to treat Streptococcus pyogenes infections. In this study, 790 patients were enrolled in 147 institutions. Of them, 734 and 718 patients were chosen for safety and efficacy analysis, respectively. There were 11 adverse drug reactions in 11 patients, and the incidence of adverse drug reactions was 1.50% (11/734 patients). The most common adverse drug reactions were diarrhea and hematuria, and there were 3 events of each, but a positive urinalysis after administration were only obserbed without the clinical symptoms. With the exception of the 3 patients in which the patient did not return to the hospital and the outcome is unknown, the patients either recovered from all of the adverse drug reactions or they were relieved. No serious adverse drug reactions were reported in this study. The response rate was 98.5% for laryngopharyngitis (457/464 patients) and 98.4% (250/254 patients) for tonsillitis. Examination of the response rates according to patient background showed that they were high, 95% or more, in every group. The Streptococcus pyogenes eradication rate was 94.6% for laryngopharyngitis (194/205 patients) and 92.4% (110/119 patients) for tonsillitis. In summary, CDTR-PI exhibited excellent safety and efficacy in laryngopharyngitis and tonsillitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, and CDTR-PI was reconfirmed as a useful drug.

[Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of cefditoren pivoxil fine granules for pediatric use in pediatric patients with acute otitis media].

A Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Acute Otitis Media in Children, in view of the causative organisms of the disease and their drug susceptibility, was issued in March 2006. In the guideline, cefditoren pivoxil (CDTR-PI, Meiact MS fine granules 10% for pediatric use) is recommended as an oral cephem antibiotic for the treatment of the disease. To collect information on the appropriate use of the drug in the clinical setting after issuance of the guideline, we conducted a specific postmarketing study of CDTR-PI in pediatric patients with acute otitis media. With this study, 2144 patients were enrolled in 305 medical institutions. Of them, 2006 and 1958 patients were chosen for safety and efficacy analysis, respectively. The incidence of adverse drug reactions was 1.79% (36/2006 patients). No unexpected or serious adverse drug reactions were reported by this study. The most common adverse drug reaction was diarrhea, which was reported in 26 cases (1.30%). The symptom resolved or subsided during CDTR-PI therapy or after discontinuation or completion of the therapy in all cases. The incidence of diarrhea in patients treated with CDTR-PI at 1.5- to 2-fold the usual dose was 2.70%, which was slightly higher than the usual dose, but that in patients more than 2-fold the usual dose was 1.92% which was not higher than 1.5- to 2-fold the usual dose. The incidence of diarrhea itself was not substantially high. Concerning the clinical efficacy of CDTR-PI, the response rate was 93.5% (1831/1958 patients). Among 1217 strains from whom 832 patients were detected as causative organisms at baseline bacteriological examination, the response rate by causative organism was 89.7% for Streptococcus pneumoniae, 90.3% for Haemophilus influenzae, and 92.2% for Moraxella catarrhalis. Among documented eradication of 577 strains with 427 patients, the bacterial eradication rate by causative organism was 83.3% for S. pneumoniae, 87.1% for H. influenzae, and 88.9% for M. catarrhalis. For each major resistant strain, the response rate was 88.0% for penicillin-intermediate S. pneumoniae (PISP), 90.1% for penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP), and 92.5% for beta-lactamase negative ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae (BLNAR), while the bacterial eradication rate was 85.7% for PISP, 77.5% for PRSP, and 81.8% for BLNAR. In addition, 457 patients "without myringotomy" and "tympanic swelling or otorrhea rated as a severity score of 8" (symptoms emphasized in the guideline) were selected as a subpopulation allowing us to define the dose-efficacy relationship more clearly. In this subpopulation, the relationship between the dose and the efficacy of CDTR-PI was assessed. The assessment revealed that the response rate was significantly higher in patients with a mean daily dose of at least 13.5 mg/kg than in those with a mean daily dose below 13.5 mg/kg. In summary, CDTR-PI raised no noteworthy concerns about its safety or efficacy in pediatric patients with acute otitis media. These findings reconfirm the usefulness of the drug.

Efficacy and safety of safinamide as an add-on therapy to L-DOPA for patients with Parkinson's disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II/III study.

INTRODUCTION: Safinamide is a reversible and selective monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) and sodium channel inhibitor with demonstrated efficacy in mid-to late-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) as an adjunct to l-DOPA. This study aimed to confirm the efficacy and safety of safinamide in PD patients with wearing-off. METHODS: This 24-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study included Japanese PD patients with wearing-off on l-DOPA treatment. Patients were randomized to receive placebo (P), safinamide 50 mg/day (S50), or safinamide 100 mg/day (S100). The primary endpoint was the change from baseline in mean daily ON-time without troublesome dyskinesias (ON-time). Other measures included the changes in mean daily OFF-time, the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) score, and the PDQ-39 summary index. RESULTS: A total of 406 subjects were randomized, of whom 349 completed the study. Baseline characteristics were balanced. Differences in the change of mean daily ON-time at Week 24 compared with the P group were 1.39 h (p = 0.0002) in the S50 group and 1.66 h (p < 0.0001) in the S100 group. Changes from baseline in mean daily OFF-time, UPDRS Part II total score (OFF phase), UPDRS Part III total score (ON phase), and UPDRS Part I also showed significant improvements. Adverse events occurred in 58.9%, 60.2%, and 61.4% of the P, S50, and S100 groups, respectively. The most common adverse drug reactions were dyskinesias (2.1%, 8.3%, and 10.6%) and visual hallucinations (1.4%, 3.0%, and 4.5%). CONCLUSION: As an adjunct to l-DOPA, safinamide safely increased ON-time and improved PD symptoms/signs in PD patients with wearing-off.

Long-term safety and efficacy of safinamide as add-on therapy in levodopa-treated Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease with wearing-off: Results of an open-label study.

INTRODUCTION: Safinamide, a selective, reversible monoamine oxidase B inhibitor with a sodium channel inhibitory effect, improves symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to confirm the long-term safety and efficacy of safinamide in Japanese PD patients with wearing-off. METHODS: Japanese PD patients aged ≥30 years with wearing-off were eligible. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline in the mean daily ON-time without troublesome dyskinesias at 52 weeks of treatment. Other efficacy endpoints included changes from baseline in mean daily OFF-time and unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) and PDQ-39 scores. RESULTS: In total, 203 patients entered the study, and 142 completed the 52-week treatment. Adverse events (AEs) occurred in 78.3% of patients, with nasopharyngitis (20.7%) and dyskinesias (17.7%) as the most common; serious AEs occurred in 17.2%, causing discontinuation in 10.8%. At Week 52, the mean daily ON-time without troublesome dyskinesias increased from baseline by 1.42 h. Change from baseline in mean daily OFF-time was -1.40 h, and that in the UPDRS Part III score in the ON-phase was -6.20. CONCLUSIONS: As adjunctive treatment with levodopa, safinamide was safe, well tolerated, and effective in improving ON-time and other PD symptoms at 52 weeks.