Patient Experience of Systemic Sclerosis-Related Calcinosis: An International Study Informing Clinical Trials, Practice, and the Development of the Mawdsley Calcinosis Questionnaire.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) -related calcinosis can be a debilitating, constantly painful, poorly understood vascular complication of calcium hydroxyapatite deposition in soft tissue structures that affects approximately 40% of both limited and diffuse cutaneous SSc subtypes. This publication describes the iterative and multitiered international qualitative investigations that yielded remarkable insights into natural history, daily experience, and complications of SSc-calcinosis providing pivotal information for health management. Patient-driven question development and field testing, according to Food and Drug Administration guidance, propelled the development of a patient-reported outcome measure for SSc-calcinosis, the Mawdsley Calcinosis Questionnaire.

Expert consensus on the management of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

BACKGROUND: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, complex, connective tissue disorder. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is common in SSc, occurring in 35-52% of patients and accounting for 20-40% of mortality. Evolution of therapeutic options has resulted in a lack of consensus on how to manage this condition. This Delphi study was initiated to develop consensus recommendations based on expert physician insights regarding screening, progression, treatment criteria, monitoring of response, and the role of recent therapeutic advances with antifibrotics and immunosuppressants in patients with SSc-ILD. METHODS: A modified Delphi process was completed by pulmonologists (n = 13) and rheumatologists (n = 12) with expertise in the management of patients with SSc-ILD. Panelists rated their agreement with each statement on a Likert scale from - 5 (complete disagreement) to + 5 (complete agreement). Consensus was predefined as a mean Likert scale score of ≤ - 2.5 or ≥ + 2.5 with a standard deviation not crossing zero. RESULTS: Panelists recommended that all patients with SSc be screened for ILD by chest auscultation, spirometry with diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and/or autoantibody testing. Treatment decisions were influenced by baseline and changes in pulmonary function tests, extent of ILD on HRCT, duration and degree of dyspnea, presence of pulmonary hypertension, and potential contribution of reflux. Treatment success was defined as stabilization or improvement of signs or symptoms of ILD and functional status. Mycophenolate mofetil was identified as the initial treatment of choice. Experts considered nintedanib a therapeutic option in patients with progressive fibrotic ILD despite immunosuppressive therapy or patients contraindicated/unable to tolerate immunotherapy. Concomitant use of nintedanib with MMF/cyclophosphamide can be considered in patients with advanced disease at initial presentation, aggressive ILD, or significant disease progression. Although limited consensus was achieved on the use of tocilizumab, the experts considered it a therapeutic option for patients with early SSc and ILD with elevated acute-phase reactants. CONCLUSIONS: This modified Delphi study generated consensus recommendations for management of patients with SSc-ILD in a real-world setting. Findings from this study provide a management algorithm that will be helpful for treating patients with SSc-ILD and addresses a significant unmet need.

Patient preferences for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: a discrete choice experiment.

OBJECTIVES: Treatments for SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) differ in attributes, i.e. mode of administration, adverse events (AEs) and efficacy. As physicians and patients may perceive treatments differently, shared decision-making can be essential for optimal treatment provision. We therefore aimed to quantify patient preferences for different treatment attributes. METHODS: Seven SSc-ILD attributes were identified from mixed-methods research and clinician input: mode of administration, shortness of breath, skin tightness, cough, tiredness, risk of gastrointestinal AEs (GI-AEs) and risk of serious and non-serious infections. Patients with SSc-ILD completed an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) in which they were asked to repeatedly choose between two alternatives characterized by varying severity levels of the included attributes. The data were analysed using a multinomial logit model; relative attribute importance and maximum acceptable risk measures were calculated. RESULTS: Overall, 231 patients with SSc-ILD completed the DCE. Patients preferred twice-daily oral treatments and 6-12 monthly infusions. Patients' choices were mostly influenced by the risk of GI-AEs or infections. Improvement was more important in respiratory symptoms than in skin tightness. Concerning trade-offs, patients accepted different levels of increase in GI-AE risk: +21% if it reduced the infusions' frequency; +15% if changing to an oral treatment; up to +37% if it improved breathlessness; and up to +36% if it reduced the risk of infections. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to quantitatively elicit patients' preferences for treatment attributes in SSc-ILD. Patients showed willingness to make trade-offs, providing a firm basis for shared decision-making in clinical practice.

Inorganic pyrophosphate is reduced in patients with systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of calcinosis cutis, a disabling complication of SSc, is poorly understood and effective treatments are lacking. Inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) is a key regulator of ectopic mineralization, and its deficiency has been implicated in ectopic mineralization disorders. We therefore sought to test the hypothesis that SSc may be associated with reduced circulating PPi, which might play a pathogenic role in calcinosis cutis. METHODS: Subjects with SSc and age-matched controls without SSc were recruited from the outpatient rheumatology clinics at Rutgers and Northwestern Universities (US cohort), and from the Universities of Szeged and Debrecen (Hungarian cohort). Calcinosis cutis was confirmed by direct palpation, by imaging or both. Plasma PPi levels were determined in platelet-free plasma using ATP sulfurylase to convert PPi into ATP in the presence of excess adenosine 5' phosphosulfate. RESULTS: Eighty-one patients with SSc (40 diffuse cutaneous, and 41 limited cutaneous SSc) in the US cohort and 45 patients with SSc (19 diffuse cutaneous and 26 limited cutaneous SSc) in the Hungarian cohort were enrolled. Calcinosis was frequently detected (40% of US and 46% of the Hungarian cohort). Plasma PPi levels were significantly reduced in both SSc cohorts with and without calcinosis (US: P = 0.003; Hungarian: P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Circulating PPi are significantly reduced in SSc patients with or without calcinosis. Reduced PPi may be important in the pathophysiology of calcinosis and contribute to tissue damage with chronic SSc. Administering PPi may be a therapeutic strategy and larger clinical studies are planned to confirm our findings.

Safety and effectiveness of abatacept in systemic sclerosis: The EUSTAR experience.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the safety and effectiveness of abatacept (ABA) given in routine care to patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: Retrospective multicenter observational study that enrolled patients with SSc treated with ABA. We collected epidemiological data and clinical outcomes. First, we analyzed the frequency of adverse effects. Secondly, we compared the evolution of different organ manifestations during ABA treatment. We collected data from 6 months before start of therapy to the last follow-up the following parameters: modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS), joints, lung and gastrointestinal involvement, concomitant medications, and laboratory tests. RESULTS: Data on twenty-seven patients with SSc were collected (93% females; 67% limited SSc). Rheumatoid arthritis was the most frequent concomitant autoimmune disease. ILD was present in 15 patients. Anti-Scl 70 antibodies were present in 13 patients and rheumatoid factor and ACPA antibodies were present in eight and seven patients respectively. The main indication to use abatacept was joint involvement (59%) followed by myositis (26%). A total of 16 adverse effects were reported in 28 months of abatacept treatment including five that required hospitalization. Most of them occurred in the first 3 months after starting abatacept. After 12 months, the number of tender and swollen joints decreased compared to baseline (p<0.03 and p<0.02 respectively). Moreover, a beneficial effect of abatacept on HAQ-DI at 3 and 6 months (p<0.05) and on morning stiffness at 6 and 12 months (p<0.03) was observed. We also observed a decrease in the modified Rodnan skin score (p<0.05). No changes in lung or gastrointestinal involvement were found. CONCLUSIONS: ABA demonstrated a good safety profile and seems to have some effectiveness on joint involvement and related disability in SSc patients treated in routine care.

Outcomes of patients with systemic sclerosis treated with rituximab in contemporary practice: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of rituximab in systemic sclerosis (SSc) in clinical practice. METHODS: We performed a prospective study including patients with SSc from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) network treated with rituximab and matched with untreated patients with SSc. The main outcomes measures were adverse events, skin fibrosis improvement, lung fibrosis worsening and steroids use among propensity score-matched patients treated or not with rituximab. RESULTS: 254 patients were treated with rituximab, in 58% for lung and in 32% for skin involvement. After a median follow-up of 2 years, about 70% of the patients had no side effect. Comparison of treated patients with 9575 propensity-score matched patients showed that patients treated with rituximab were more likely to have skin fibrosis improvement (22.7 vs 14.03 events per 100 person-years; OR: 2.79 [1.47-5.32]; p=0.002). Treated patients did not have significantly different rates of decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC)>10% (OR: 1.03 [0.55-1.94]; p=0.93) nor in carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) decrease. Patients having received rituximab were more prone to stop or decrease steroids (OR: 2.34 [1.56-3.53], p<0.0001). Patients treated concomitantly with mycophenolate mofetil had a trend for better outcomes as compared with patients receiving rituximab alone (delta FVC: 5.22 [0.83-9.62]; p=0.019 as compared with controls vs 3 [0.66-5.35]; p=0.012). CONCLUSION: Rituximab use was associated with a good safety profile in this large SSc-cohort. Significant change was observed on skin fibrosis, but not on lung. However, the limitation is the observational design. The potential stabilisation of lung fibrosis by rituximab has to be addressed by a randomised trial.

Echocardiogram: The GPS to GPA's Heart (Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis).

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a rare ANCA-associated necrotizing granulomatous vasculitis affecting small- to medium-sized vessels. Common manifestations of this disease process affect the ear, nose, throat, upper and lower airways, and kidneys. Cardiac involvement has been reported in 6-44% of patients, primarily as coronary arteritis and pericarditis. A majority of case reports of pericardial effusions in patients with GPA identify patients having constrictive pericarditis secondary to uremia. We are presenting a case of hemorrhagic pericarditis in a patient with GPA in which the underlying inflammatory vasculitis likely played the primary role in the patient's presentation. Echocardiographic abnormalities have been found in 80% of patients with GPA. Given the high mortality from cardiac involvement in patients with GPA, screening echocardiograms for this patient population may serve as a helpful tool in gauging disease severity, thereby guiding therapy to prevent serious cardiac complications, such as cardiac tamponade as presented in this case report.

Risk Factors for Mortality and Cardiopulmonary Hospitalization in Systemic Sclerosis Patients At Risk for Pulmonary Hypertension, in the PHAROS Registry.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify predictors of mortality and cardiopulmonary hospitalizations in patients at risk for pulmonary hypertension (PH) and enrolled in PHAROS, a prospective cohort study to investigate the natural history of PH in systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The at-risk population for PH was defined by the following entry criteria: echocardiogram systolic pulmonary arterial pressure > 40 mmHg, or DLCO < 55% predicted or ratio of % forced vital capacity/%DLCO > 1.6, measured by pulmonary function testing. Baseline clinical measures were evaluated as predictors of hospitalization and death between 2005 and 2014. Cox proportional hazards models were censored at date of PH onset or latest study visit and adjusted for age, sex, race, and disease duration. RESULTS: Of the 236 at-risk subjects who were followed for a median of 4 years (range 0.4-8.5 yrs), 35 developed PH after entering PHAROS (reclassified as PH group). In the at-risk group, higher mortality was strongly associated with male sex, low %DLCO, exercise oxygen desaturation, anemia, abnormal dyspnea scores, and baseline pericardial effusion. Risks for cardiopulmonary hospitalization were associated with increased dyspnea and pericardial effusions, although PH patients with DLCO < 50% had the highest risk of cardiopulmonary hospitalizations. CONCLUSION: Risk factors for poor outcome in patients with SSc who are at risk for PH were similar to others with SSc-PH and SSc-pulmonary arterial hypertension, including male sex, DLCO < 50%, exercise oxygen desaturation, and pericardial effusions. This group should undergo right heart catheterization and receive appropriate intervention if PH is confirmed.

Pomalidomide in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease due to Systemic Sclerosis: A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of pomalidomide (POM) on forced vital capacity (FVC), modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), and gastrointestinal (GI) symptomatology over 52 weeks of treatment in patients with interstitial lung disease due to systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: Twenty-three adult patients diagnosed with SSc were randomized 1:1 POM:placebo (PBO). RESULTS: Mean change at Week 52 from baseline in predicted FVC% -5.2 and -2.8; mRSS -2.7 and -3.7; and UCLA Scleroderma Clinical Trial Consortium Gastrointestinal Tract (SCTC GIT 2.0) score 0.1 and 0.0, with POM and PBO, respectively. Statistical significance was not achieved for any of these 3 primary endpoints at 52 weeks. CONCLUSION: Because of recruitment challenges, subject enrollment was discontinued early. In an interim analysis, the study did not meet its Week 52 primary endpoints. Therefore, a decision was made to terminate all study phases. POM was generally well tolerated, with an adverse event profile consistent with the known safety and tolerability profile of POM in other diseases. Study results were neither positive nor negative because too few subjects were enrolled to make meaningful conclusions. Clinical Trials number: NCT01559129.

Mycophenolate mofetil versus oral cyclophosphamide in scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease (SLS II): a randomised controlled, double-blind, parallel group trial.

BACKGROUND: 12 months of oral cyclophosphamide has been shown to alter the progression of scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease when compared with placebo. However, toxicity was a concern and without continued treatment the efficacy disappeared by 24 months. We hypothesised that a 2 year course of mycophenolate mofetil would be safer, better tolerated, and produce longer lasting improvements than cyclophosphamide. METHODS: This randomised, double-blind, parallel group trial enrolled patients from 14 US medical centres with scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease meeting defined dyspnoea, pulmonary function, and high-resolution CT (HRCT) criteria. The data coordinating centre at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, CA, USA), randomly assigned patients using a double-blind, double-dummy, centre-blocked design to receive either mycophenolate mofetil (target dose 1500 mg twice daily) for 24 months or oral cyclophosphamide (target dose 2·0 mg/kg per day) for 12 months followed by placebo for 12 months. Drugs were given in matching 250 mg gel capsules. The primary endpoint, change in forced vital capacity as a percentage of the predicted normal value (FVC %) over the course of 24 months, was assessed in a modified intention-to-treat analysis using an inferential joint model combining a mixed-effects model for longitudinal outcomes and a survival model to handle non-ignorable missing data. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00883129. FINDINGS: Between Sept 28, 2009, and Jan 14, 2013, 142 patients were randomly assigned to either mycophenolate mofetil (n=69) or cyclophosphamide (n=73). 126 patients (mycophenolate mofetil [n=63] and cyclophosphamide [n=63]) with acceptable baseline HRCT studies and at least one outcome measure were included in the primary analysis. The adjusted % predicted FVC improved from baseline to 24 months by 2·19 in the mycophenolate mofetil group (95% CI 0·53-3·84) and 2·88 in the cyclophosphamide group (1·19-4·58). The course of the % FVC did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups based on the prespecified primary analysis using a joint model (p=0·24), indicating that the trial was negative for the primary endpoint. However, in a post-hoc analysis of the primary endpoint, the within-treatment change from baseline to 24 months derived from the joint model showed that the % FVC improved significantly in both the mycophenolate mofetil and cyclophosphamide groups. 16 (11%) patients died (five [7%] mycophenolate mofetil and 11 [15%] cyclophosphamide), with most due to progressive interstitial lung disease. Leucopenia (30 patients vs four patients) and thrombocytopenia (four vs zero) occurred more often in patients given cyclophosphamide than mycophenolate mofetil. Fewer patients on mycophenolate mofetil than on cyclophosphamide prematurely withdrew from study drug (20 vs 32) or met prespecified criteria for treatment failure (zero vs two). The time to stopping treatment was shorter in the cyclophosphamide group (p=0·019). INTERPRETATION: Treatment of scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease with mycophenolate mofetil for 2 years or cyclophosphamide for 1 year both resulted in significant improvements in prespecified measures of lung function over the 2 year course of the study. Although mycophenolate mofetil was better tolerated and associated with less toxicity, the hypothesis that it would have greater efficacy at 24 months than cyclophosphamide was not confirmed. These findings support the potential clinical effectiveness of both cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil for progressive scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease, and the present preference for mycophenolate mofetil because of its better tolerability and toxicity profile. FUNDING: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health; with drug supply provided by Hoffmann-La Roche and Genentech.

Survival in systemic sclerosis-pulmonary arterial hypertension by serum autoantibody status in the Pulmonary Hypertension Assessment and Recognition of Outcomes in Scleroderma (PHAROS) Registry.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between serum autoantibodies and survival in patients with incident systemic sclerosis (SSc)-pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) enrolled in the Pulmonary Hypertension Assessment and Recognition of Outcomes in Scleroderma (PHAROS) Registry. METHODS: Patients with definite PAH diagnosed by right heart catheterization within 6 months of registry enrollment were studied. Serum autoantibodies were assayed at each participating institution's clinical laboratory. Mortality data were collected from electronic medical records and/or the Social Security Death Index. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were reported for five autoantibody groups (anticentromere/AC, nucleolar ANA/NUC, anti-topoisomerase/Scl-70, overlapping or non-specific autoantibodies/other, and a combined group with similar survival consisting of RNA polymerase III, U1RNP, and autoantibody-negative patients). Cox proportional hazards models permitted examination of the association between autoantibody groups and overall survival, controlling for age, sex, race, and SSc disease duration. RESULTS: In all, 162 subjects had PAH, and serum autoantibody and survival information; 60 (37%) had AC, 39 (24%) NUC, 11 (7%) Scl-70, 28 (17%) had other, 9 (6%) RNA pol, 8 (5%) U1RNP autoantibodies, and 7 (4%) had negative antibodies; 32 (20%) subjects died over a median follow-up time of 2.1 years (range: 0.01-6.8); 1- and 3-year survival estimates were, respectively, 94% and 78% for AC, 94% and 72% for NUC, 89% and 63% for Scl-70, 92% and 79% for the other group, and 100% and 93% for the combined group. Unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios revealed no statistically significant association between risk of death and autoantibodies. CONCLUSION: Anticentromere and NUC autoantibodies are prevalent in SSc-PAH patients. An association between serum autoantibodies and survival in patients with SSc-PAH was not identified in the PHAROS cohort.

Development of pulmonary hypertension in a high-risk population with systemic sclerosis in the Pulmonary Hypertension Assessment and Recognition of Outcomes in Scleroderma (PHAROS) cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: PHAROS registry is a prospective longitudinal cohort study to understand the natural history of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: "At-risk" pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is defined by these entry criteria: echocardiogram (echo) systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP) >40 mmHg, diffusion lung capacity of carbon monoxide (DLco) <55% predicted, or ratio of percentage forced vital capacity (FVC)/percentage DLco >1.6, as measured by pulmonary function testing (PFT). Patients were followed up annually and right heart catheterization (RHC) performed if PH was suspected. We used descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier estimate of time to PH diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 251 "at-risk" subjects were enrolled between 2005 and 2012 and followed up for mean of 2.5 ± 1.2 years. The mean age at entry was 56.7 ± 11.0 and disease duration was 9.9 ± 8.7 years. Overall, 82 patients had RHC, and 35 were confirmed to have new PH. There were no differences in age, gender, SSc subtypes, antibodies, and disease duration between the "at-risk" and new PH groups. Using Kaplan-Meier survival, the time to PH was 10% at 2 years, 13% at 3 years, and 25% at 5 years. Most new PH patients at entry met the PFT criteria (76%), had significantly higher sPAP (p = 0.013), had shorter 6-min walk distance, and had exercise-induced hypoxia (p = 0.003) than "at-risk" PAH group. CONCLUSIONS: A low DLco, high FVC/DLco, exercise-induced hypoxia and entry echo sPAP > 40 were strongly associated with future PH, though RHC was necessary to confirm PH. This ongoing prospective study confirms that these high-risk factors do predict future PH.

2013 classification criteria for systemic sclerosis: an American College of Rheumatology/European League against Rheumatism collaborative initiative.

OBJECTIVE: The 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for systemic sclerosis (SSc) lack sensitivity for early SSc and limited cutaneous SSc. The present work, by a joint committee of the ACR and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), was undertaken for the purpose of developing new classification criteria for SSc. METHODS: Using consensus methods, 23 candidate items were arranged in a multicriteria additive point system with a threshold to classify cases as SSc. The classification system was reduced by clustering items and simplifying weights. The system was tested by 1) determining specificity and sensitivity in SSc cases and controls with scleroderma-like disorders, and 2) validating against the combined view of a group of experts on a set of cases with or without SSc. RESULTS: It was determined that skin thickening of the fingers extending proximal to the metacarpophalangeal joints is sufficient for the patient to be classified as having SSc; if that is not present, 7 additive items apply, with varying weights for each: skin thickening of the fingers, fingertip lesions, telangiectasia, abnormal nailfold capillaries, interstitial lung disease or pulmonary arterial hypertension, Raynaud's phenomenon, and SSc-related autoantibodies. Sensitivity and specificity in the validation sample were, respectively, 0.91 and 0.92 for the new classification criteria and 0.75 and 0.72 for the 1980 ACR classification criteria. All selected cases were classified in accordance with consensus-based expert opinion. All cases classified as SSc according to the 1980 ACR criteria were classified as SSc with the new criteria, and several additional cases were now considered to be SSc. CONCLUSION: The ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc performed better than the 1980 ACR criteria for SSc and should allow for more patients to be classified correctly as having the disease.

2013 classification criteria for systemic sclerosis: an American college of rheumatology/European league against rheumatism collaborative initiative.

OBJECTIVE: The 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for systemic sclerosis (SSc) lack sensitivity for early SSc and limited cutaneous SSc. The present work, by a joint committee of the ACR and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), was undertaken for the purpose of developing new classification criteria for SSc. METHODS: Using consensus methods, 23 candidate items were arranged in a multicriteria additive point system with a threshold to classify cases as SSc. The classification system was reduced by clustering items and simplifying weights. The system was tested by (1) determining specificity and sensitivity in SSc cases and controls with scleroderma-like disorders, and (2) validating against the combined view of a group of experts on a set of cases with or without SSc. RESULTS: It was determined that skin thickening of the fingers extending proximal to the metacarpophalangeal joints is sufficient for the patient to be classified as having SSc; if that is not present, seven additive items apply, with varying weights for each: skin thickening of the fingers, fingertip lesions, telangiectasia, abnormal nailfold capillaries, interstitial lung disease or pulmonary arterial hypertension, Raynaud's phenomenon, and SSc-related autoantibodies. Sensitivity and specificity in the validation sample were, respectively, 0.91 and 0.92 for the new classification criteria and 0.75 and 0.72 for the 1980 ACR classification criteria. All selected cases were classified in accordance with consensus-based expert opinion. All cases classified as SSc according to the 1980 ACR criteria were classified as SSc with the new criteria, and several additional cases were now considered to be SSc. CONCLUSIONS: The ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc performed better than the 1980 ACR criteria for SSc and should allow for more patients to be classified correctly as having the disease.

Bosentan treatment of digital ulcers related to systemic sclerosis: results from the RAPIDS-2 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Ischaemic digital ulcers (DUs) are common in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and are a cause of disease-related morbidity. In an earlier trial, treatment with bosentan, an oral endothelin receptor antagonist, reduced the occurrence of new DUs by 48%. The present study (RAPIDS-2, for 'RAndomized, double-blind, Placebo-controlled study with bosentan on healing and prevention of Ischemic Digital ulcers in patients with systemic Sclerosis') was conducted to more fully evaluate the effects of bosentan treatment on DUs associated with SSc. METHODS: This double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 41 centres in Europe and North America randomised 188 patients with SSc with at least 1 active DU ('cardinal ulcer') to bosentan 62.5 mg twice daily for 4 weeks and 125 mg twice daily thereafter for 20 weeks (n=98) or matching placebo (n=90; total 24 weeks). The two primary end points were the number of new DUs and the time to healing of the cardinal ulcer. Secondary end points included pain, disability and safety. RESULTS: Over 24 weeks, bosentan treatment was associated with a 30% reduction in the number of new DUs compared with placebo (mean ± standard error: 1.9±0.2 vs 2.7±0.3 new ulcers; p=0.04). This effect was greater in patients who entered the trial with more DUs. There was no difference between treatments in healing rate of the cardinal ulcer or secondary end points of pain and disability. Peripheral oedema and elevated aminotransferases were associated with bosentan treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Bosentan treatment reduced the occurrence of new DUs in patients with SSc but had no effect on DU healing. Bosentan was well tolerated and may be a useful adjunct in the management of patients with SSc with recurrent DUs.

Use of a medication control officer to reduce bias in a clinical trial: lessons learned from the scleroderma lung study.

BACKGROUND: Scleroderma Lung Study (SLS) was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral cyclophosphamide (CYC) versus placebo taken for 1 year for scleroderma-associated interstitial lung disease. An independent medication control officer (MCO), usually a physician, at each center was assigned to monitor laboratory and clinical toxicity of study medication and regulate its dosing based on these results. By having an MCO who watched and managed toxicity, the study investigators were free to care for study patients and to assess study outcomes without the potential bias of knowing toxicity data (toxicity from cyclophosphamide is distinctive - cytopenias and hematuria in particular). PURPOSE: To assess the usefulness of an MCO, whose chief role was to maintain safety while retaining the blinding in the clinical trial. METHODS: Patients had safety laboratory testing every 2-4 weeks and results were sent directly to the MCO within 2 days of the test. Other clinical adverse events (AEs) were reported by the patient to a nurse coordinator who reported them to the MCO who then managed the AEs to preserve the blinding of investigators caring for the patients. The MCO was provided pre-determined algorithms for dose adjustments of test medication based on the presence and severity of laboratory abnormalities. RESULTS: Safety monitoring by the MCO was effective in the early detection of drug toxicity with provision of appropriate medical intervention on a timely basis. At the same time, investigator blinding appeared to be maintained. LIMITATIONS: The testing of MCO effectiveness in maintaining blinding and consistency was not defined as an a priori hypothesis and thus complete data relating to the efficacy of the MCO were not collected in a prospective fashion. CONCLUSION: An MCO and pre-specified monitoring and dosing guidelines, coupled with uniform pre-specified responses to AEs, may be used effectively to preserve investigator blinding and provide consistency in response to AEs in a clinical trial setting, even when AEs of the test medication are distinctive.

Randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial of tadalafil in Raynaud's phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is an important clinical feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc) for which consistently effective therapies are lacking. The study was designed to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of tadalafil, a selective, long acting type V cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitor, in this clinical syndrome. METHODS: We performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study comparing oral tadalafil at a fixed dose of 20 mg daily for a period of 4 weeks versus placebo in women with RP secondary to SSc. RESULTS: Thirty-nine subjects completed the study and were evaluable. There were no statistically significant differences in Raynaud Condition Score (RCS), frequency of RP episodes, or duration of RP episodes between treatment groups. Placebo response was a confounding factor. Tadalafil was well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Tadalafil appears to be safe and well tolerated but lacks efficacy in comparison to placebo as a treatment for RP secondary to SSc.

Validity, reliability, and feasibility of durometer measurements of scleroderma skin disease in a multicenter treatment trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity, reliability, and feasibility of durometer measurements of skin hardness as an outcome measure in clinical trials of scleroderma. METHODS: Skin hardness was measured during a multicenter treatment trial for scleroderma using handheld digital durometers with a continuous scale. Skin thickness was measured by modified Rodnan skin score (MRSS). Other outcome data collected included the Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire. In a reliability exercise in advance of the trial, 9 investigators examined the same 5 scleroderma patients by MRSS and durometry. RESULTS: Forty-three patients with early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis were studied at 11 international centers (mean age 49 years [range 24-76], median disease duration 6.4 months [range 0.3-23], and median baseline MRSS 22 [range 11-38]). The reliability of durometer measurements was excellent, with high interobserver intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) (0.82-0.92), and each result was greater than the corresponding skin site ICCs for MRSS (0.54-0.85). Baseline durometer scores correlated well with MRSS (r = 0.69, P < 0.0001), patient self-assessments of skin disease (r = 0.69, P < 0.0001), and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability scores (r = 0.34, P = 0.03). Change in durometer scores correlated with change in MRSS (r = 0.70, P < 0.0001), change in patient self-assessments of skin disease (r = 0.52, P = 0.003), and change in HAQ disability scores (r = 0.42, P = 0.017). The effect size was greater for durometry than for MRSS or patient self-assessment. CONCLUSION: Durometer measurements of skin hardness in patients with scleroderma are reliable, simple, accurate, demonstrate good sensitivity to change compared with traditional skin scoring, and reflect patients' self-assessments of their disease. Durometer measurements are valid, objective, and scalable, and should be considered for use as a complementary outcome measure to skin scoring in clinical trials of scleroderma.

Assessment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients with systemic sclerosis: comparison of noninvasive tests with results of right-heart catheterization.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an ominous complication in patients with scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc). We compared noninvasive assessment of PH with pulmonary artery (PA) pressures obtained by right-heart catheterization (RHC). METHODS: Forty-nine patients with SSc were evaluated for suspected PH based on clinical findings, progressive dyspnea, and pulmonary function tests (PFT). PH was defined as mean PA pressure > or = 25 mm Hg, or > or = 30 mm Hg after exercise, with normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCW). Doppler echocardiography (echo) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed within 4 hours of RHC, and the predictive accuracy of the tests was compared. RESULTS: RHC identified 24/49 (49%) patients with PH. The noninvasive cutpoints were: estimated right ventricular systolic pressure > 47 mm Hg by echo; diameter of the main PA > 28 mm by MRI; and the ratio of forced vital capacity to diffusion capacity (%FVC/%DLCO) > 2.0 by PFT. Echo classified 38 subjects correctly (14/24 with and 24/25 without PH; sensitivity 58%, specificity 96%). The area under receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.84 for echo. MRI measurement of PA diameter had a sensitivity of 68% and specificity 71% (AUC 0.78). PFT evaluation had a sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 72% (AUC 0.76). CONCLUSION: In evaluation of SSc with suspected PH, echo appeared to be the most useful among the noninvasive tests, mainly due to the high specificity, high positive predictive value, and highest AUC. However, due to the low sensitivity of noninvasive testing, RHC should remain the gold standard.