Non-trough serum drug levels of adalimumab and etanercept are associated with response in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Up to 40% of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients experience first-line Tumour Necrosis Factor inhibitors (TNF-i) failure. Lower serum drug levels (SDL) have been associated with lower response in autoimmune conditions. This study aimed to: (i) establish the relationship between adalimumab (ADL) and etanercept (ETN) SDL and 3-month response; and (ii) identify optimal non-trough SDL thresholds in PsA. METHODS: PsA patients commencing ADL or ETN were recruited to the UK observational study OUTPASS. Patients were seen pre-TNF-i and at 3 months when response was measured, and non-trough serum samples collected. Response was defined according to the PsARC or EULAR criteria. Descriptive statistics and concentration-effect curves established differences in SDL based on response. Receiver operating characteristics and regression identified optimal SDL thresholds. RESULTS: PsA ETN (n = 97) PsARC and EULAR good responders had significantly higher 3-month SDL compared with non-responders (p= 0.006 and p= 0.020 respectively). Non-trough 3-month ETN SDL discriminated PsARC responders from non-responders (AUC = 0.70), with a threshold of 1.8 µg/ml being 63% specific and 69% sensitive. EULAR good and non-/moderate responders were discriminated with an AUC of 0.65 with a threshold of 2.0 µg/ml being 57% specific and 69% sensitive. ADL prescribed (n = 104) EULAR good responders had significantly higher 3-month SDL (p= 0.049). Non-trough 3-month ADL SDL discriminated EULAR good and non-/moderate responders (AUC = 0.63) with a threshold of 3.6 µg/ml being 48% specific and 81% sensitive. CONCLUSION: Higher 3-month SDL were detected in responders. Interventions to optimise SDL may improve treatment response earlier. This study suggests 3-month SDL thresholds which may be useful in clinical practice to optimise treatment response.

Non-trough adalimumab and certolizumab drug levels associated with a therapeutic EULAR response in adherent patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Interventions aimed at increasing TNF-α inhibitor serum drug levels (SDLs) may improve treatment response; however, previous studies suggesting SDL cut-offs have not accounted for treatment adherence. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between adalimumab/certolizumab SDLs and EULAR good vs non-/moderate response and to define SDL cut-offs associated with good response in fully adherent patients. METHODS: In a prospective observational study, 475 patients with RA were treated with certolizumab (n = 192) or adalimumab (n = 283). At baseline and 3, 6 and 12 months, patients had 28-joint DAS, self-reported treatment adherence and SDLs measured. Fully adherent patients were analysed as a subgroup. Follow-up data at 3, 6 and 12 months were analysed separately. Median SDLs were compared in good vs non-/moderate response patients and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were used to establish cut-off SDLs. RESULTS: Fully adherent good responders had significantly higher median adalimumab/certolizumab SDLs compared with non-/moderate responders (P = 0.04 and P = 0.0005, respectively). ROC analysis reported 3 month non-trough adalimumab SDLs discriminated good vs non-/moderate response with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.63 (95% CI 0.52, 0.75), with a cut-off of 7.5 mg/l being 39.1% specific and 80.9% sensitive. Similarly, 3 month non-trough certolizumab SDLs discriminated good vs non-/moderate response with an AUC of 0.65 (95% CI 0.51, 0.78), with a cut-off of 26.0 mg/l being 43.9% specific and 77.8% sensitive. CONCLUSION: In fully adherent patients, higher SDLs are detected in good responders, suggesting that interventions to improve SDLs, such as encouraging adherence, could improve treatment response. The 3 month non-trough SDL cut-offs of 7.5 mg/l for adalimumab and 26.0 mg/l for certolizumab may be useful in clinical practice.

Renal sarcoidosis associated with certolizumab pegol treatment for psoriatic arthritis.

We present a case of certolizumab-associated renal sarcoidosis, the first reported case in a patient with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that was effectively treated with corticosteroids. A 55-year-old Caucasian man with PsA diagnosed at age 47 and plaque psoriasis since his early twenties was on certolizumab pegol (CZP) for 7 months before presenting to the emergency department with seizures and renal failure. A renal biopsy confirmed renal sarcoidosis. His CZP therapy was stopped, and after several months taking prednisolone at a reducing regime, his renal function improved, and his PsA remained under control. When considering further treatment options for his PsA keeping in mind that other drugs, especially tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, have been reported to be associated with sarcoidosis, tofacitinib was considered to be a future treatment option acceptable to the patient, given current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines approving its use in PsA and the lack of reports of tofacitinib-associated sarcoidosis in the literature.

Immune cytopenia post-cord transplant in Hurler syndrome is a forme fruste of graft rejection.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is the preferred donor cell source for children with Hurler syndrome undergoing transplant, and its use has been associated with improved "engrafted survival" rates. However, as in other pediatric recipients of UCB transplants for nonmalignant disease, immune-mediated cytopenia (IMC) is a significant complication. This article describes 8 episodes of IMC in 36 patients with Hurler syndrome undergoing UCB transplant. The incidence of IMC was increased in those with a higher preconditioning absolute lymphocyte count and in those conditioned with fludarabine-containing regimens rather than cyclophosphamide, and it included red cell alloantibodies directed at cord blood group antigens that are novel to the recipient. In several cases, IMC was a precursor to immune-mediated complete graft rejection. We describe IMC as part of a spectrum of graft rejection by a residual competent host immune system and a forme fruste of complete graft rejection.