Large-scale mortality gap between SLE and control population is associated with increased infection-related mortality in lupus.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to analyse the incidence, prevalence, mortality and cause of death data of adult SLE patients and matched controls in a full-populational, nationwide, retrospective study. METHODS: This non-interventional study was based on database research of the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary. A total of 7888 patients were included in the analyses, within which two subgroups of incident patients were created: the 'All incident SLE patients' group consisted of all incident SLE patients (4503 patients), while the 'Treated SLE patients' group contained those who received relevant therapy in the first 6 months after diagnosis (2582 patients). RESULTS: The median age of the SLE population was found to be 46.5 years (women 85%). The incidence rate was 4.86 and 2.78 per 100 000 inhabitants in the 'All incident SLE patients' and 'Treated SLE patients' groups, respectively. The standardized mortality ratio was 1.63 and 2.09 in the 'All incident SLE patients' and 'Treated SLE patients' groups, respectively. Overall survival was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in both groups than in the general population, with hazard ratio = 2.17 in the 'All incident SLE patients' group and hazard ratio = 2.75 in the 'Treated SLE patients' group. There was no significant difference between SLE and control deaths regarding cerebrovascular conditions as the cause of death. Generally, cancer-related deaths were less common, while haematological cancer and infection-related deaths were more common in SLE patients. CONCLUSION: Infections, especially sepsis, had the largest positive effect on top of the extra mortality of SLE. This highlights that SLE patients are at increased risk of infection-related death.

Secondary malignancies and survival of FCR-treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Central Europe.

This is the first large-scale cross-country analysis of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) aimed to evaluate the incidence, types, and key prognostic factors of secondary malignancies, and to assess the impact on overall survival based on retrospective claims data from three Central European countries. We analyzed 25,814 newly diagnosed CLL patients from Czechia, Hungary, and Poland; 10,312 (39.9%) patients were treated for CLL in study periods between 2004 and 2016. Out of the treated patients, 1986 (19.3%) received the FCR therapy in the first line and 779 (7.6%) received FCR in subsequent lines. We observed that 33.7% of treated patients developed secondary malignancies during the study. Based on country estimates, the probability to develop a secondary malignancy within 4 years since starting the first-line FCR therapy ranged between 28.0% and 36.8%. We found the age at diagnosis, male gender, any malignancy prior to the CLL diagnosis, and the CLL treatment to be the key risk factors for developing secondary malignancies. Specifically, the FCR therapy was a statistically significant (p < 0.001) prognostic factor for risk increase with the hazard ratio between 1.46 and 1.60. Across the three Central European countries, we observed consistent results indicating FCR increased the risk of secondary malignancies in CLL patients. We conclude that secondary malignancies are clearly an undervalued burden for CLL patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system. When evaluating new therapies in regulatory and reimbursement decision making, the factor of secondary malignancies deserves deeper considerations.

High risk of depression, anxiety, and an unfavorable complex comorbidity profile is associated with SLE: a nationwide patient-level study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this national population-based, retrospective database study is to compare the comorbidity profiles of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and general population controls matched for age, gender, and region and assess the risk of depression or anxiety when controlled for age, gender and adjusted for the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). METHODS: Claims data of 1051 patients diagnosed with SLE (full population between January 01, 2011, and December 31, 2014) from the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund have been analyzed against matched controls (1:5 ratio) with a follow-up of 30 months. The first record of SLE diagnosis was considered the diagnosis date. The odds ratio (OR) and 99.9% confidence interval (CI) of having depression or anxiety among patients with SLE vs. controls have been assessed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: SLE patients report more comorbidities than the matched general population both in pre- and post-index periods (mean CCI 1.79 vs. 1.15 and 2.78 vs. 1.22 [both p<0.001], respectively). Both SLE patients and controls diagnosed with depression or anxiety had significantly higher CCI than those without comorbid depression or anxiety (p<0.001). However, SLE patients had a twofold higher risk of depression or anxiety than matched controls when controlled for age, gender, and adjusted for CCI. CONCLUSION: Our analysis indicates the enormity of comorbidity burden in SLE, especially that of anxiety and depression. The size and complexity of the comorbidity burden emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and intervention with comprehensive modalities incorporating attention to comorbidities in SLE patients.

Anti-TNF dose escalation and drug sustainability in Crohn's disease: Data from the nationwide administrative database in Hungary.

BACKGROUND: A significant percentage of patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) agents lose clinical response over time. This study aims to provide representative real-world data on anti-TNFα drug sustainability, prevalence and predictors of anti-TNFα dose escalation. METHODS: In this nationwide, retrospective study, patients receiving infliximab or adalimumab therapy between 2013 and 2016 were included using the administrative claims database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund. Demographic characteristics, drug sustainability, dose escalation, use of parallel medications were analyzed. RESULTS: 476 infliximab and 397 adalimumab patients were included. Dose escalation was observed in 7%, 9% and 22% of patients receiving originator/biosimilar infliximab and adalimumab during the complete follow-up, respectively. Dose escalation was associated with shorter disease duration (OR = 1.75, p = 0.026) and corticosteroid use. Drug retention rates were 62.7%, 72.3%, 75.4% after 1 year follow-up for Remicade®, Inflectra® and Humira®, which decreased to 38.3% and 52.1% for Remicade® and Humira® at 3 years. Drug sustainability was affected by steroid use prior biologic initiation in adalimumab treated patients (HR = 2.04, p < 0.001), while in infliximab treated patients dose escalation (HR = 0.51, p = 0.02) and gender (HR = 1.39, p = 0.033) were predictors of treatment discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Dose escalation rates were lower in this real-world administrative database study for both adalimumab and infliximab compared to published data. Drug retention rates were overall satisfactory, with no apparent difference between the legacy and biosimilar infliximab.