Treatment Patterns and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Moderate to Severe Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease: A Multicenter Chart Review Study.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) remains a barrier to successful allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) outcomes. Contemporary comprehensive analyses of real-world clinical outcomes among patients who develop aGVHD post-HSCT are needed to better understand the unmet needs of this patient population. This multicenter, retrospective chart review describes treatment patterns and clinical outcomes among patients (≥18 years old) from Finland, Sweden, and France who developed grades II-IV aGVHD after their first HSCT (January 2016-June 2017). From 13 participating centers, 151 patients were included. The median (Q1, Q3) age at HSCT was 56 (45, 62) years old. One line of aGVHD treatment was received by 47.7%, and the most common first-line treatment was methylprednisolone (alone or in a combination regimen, 74.2%; monotherapy, 25.8%). Among patients treated with methylprednisolone, 79.5% achieved a complete or partial response. The median (Q1, Q3) number of treatment lines was 2.0 (1.0, 3.0). The median (Q1, Q3) time to obtain an aGVHD diagnosis from transplant was 29.5 (21.0, 44.0) days, and 14.5 (7.0, 34.0) days to achieve the best response for 110 evaluable patients. At 6 and 12 months, 53.6% and 49.0%, respectively, achieved a complete response. Chronic GVHD occurred in 37.7% of patients, and aGVHD reoccurred in 26.5%. Following aGVHD diagnosis, mortality rates were 30.0% at 6 months and 37.3% at 12 months. Findings from this study demonstrate a continuing unmet need for new therapies that control aGVHD and improve mortality.

Vitiligo patient population and disease burden in France: VIOLIN study results from the CONSTANCES cohort.

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease resulting in skin depigmentation. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the prevalence, disease burden and treatment of vitiligo in France. METHODS: VIOLIN was a cross-sectional study nested in the national CONSTANCES cohort, which consists of randomly selected adults aged 18-69 years in France. In VIOLIN, longitudinal data were collected prospectively from 158,898 participants during 2012-2018 and linked to the National Health Data System (SNDS), a healthcare utilization database. Patients with physician-diagnosed vitiligo were matched (1:3) with control participants based on age, sex, geographic region, year of inclusion and skin phototype. Patients completed a questionnaire in 2022 to collect disease characteristics, disease burden and quality-of-life (QoL) data. RESULTS: Vitiligo prevalence was 0.71% (681/95,597) in 2018. The mean age in the vitiligo population was 51.2 years; 51.4% were women. Most patients (63%) were diagnosed before age 30 years, mainly by dermatologists (83.5%). Most patients (81.1%) had visible lesions (i.e. on face, hands). Vitiligo was limited to <10% of the body surface area (BSA) in 85.8% of patients. Comorbidities including thyroid disease (18.0% vs. 9.0%), psoriasis (13.7% vs. 9.7%), atopic dermatitis (12.4% vs. 10.3%), depression (18.2% vs. 14.6%) and alopecia areata (4.3% vs. 2.4%) were significantly more common in patients with vitiligo versus matched controls (n = 2043). QoL was significantly impaired in patients with >5% BSA involvement or visible lesions, particularly with ≥10% facial involvement. Vitiligo-specific instruments (i.e. Vitiligo Impact Patient scale and Vitiligo-specific QoL instrument) were more sensitive to QoL differences among subgroups versus general skin instruments, and generic instruments were least sensitive. Most patients (83.8%) did not receive any prescribed treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with vitiligo in France have a high disease burden, particularly those with visible lesions or higher BSA involvement. Most patients are not receiving treatment, highlighting the need for new effective treatments and patient/physician education.

Omeprazole, pantoprazole, and CYP2C19 effects on clopidogrel pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships in stable coronary artery disease patients.

PURPOSE: Proton-pump Inhibitors use and CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles are associated with reduced responsiveness to standard clopidogrel doses and increased cardiovascular events. METHODS: Post-myocardial infarction patients heterozygous (wild type [wt]/*2, n = 41) or homozygous (*2/*2, n = 7) for the CYP2C19*2 genetic variant were matched with patients not carrying the variant (wt/wt, n = 58). All patients were randomized to a 300- or 900-mg clopidogrel loading dose. A PK/PD model was defined using the variation of the P2Y12 reaction unit relative to baseline. RESULTS: Carriage of CYP2C19*2 allele and the use of omeprazole/esomeprazole were associated with the inter-individual variability in the active metabolite clearance. The relationship between inhibition of platelet aggregation (IPA, %) and the active metabolite AUC (h*µg/L) was described by a sigmoid function (Emax 56 ± 5%; EAUC50 15.9 ± 0.8 h*µg/L) with a gamma exponent (7.04 ± 2.26). CONCLUSION: This on/off shape explains that a small variation of exposure may have a clinical relevance.

Impact of red blood cell transfusion on platelet aggregation and inflammatory response in anemic coronary and noncoronary patients: the TRANSFUSION-2 study (impact of transfusion of red blood cell on platelet activation and aggregation studied with flow cytometry use and light transmission aggregometry).

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether red blood cell (RBC) transfusion increases in vivo platelet aggregation and inflammation in coronary and noncoronary patients. BACKGROUND: RBC transfusion increases in vitro platelet activation and aggregation in healthy volunteers, providing a possible explanation for the increase in recurrent ischemic events and mortality reported after RBC transfusion in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). METHODS: Platelet reactivity was measured before and after RBC transfusion in 61 patients (33 with ACS patients and 28 without ACS). Relative changes between baseline and post-transfusion measurements of maximal and residual platelet aggregation were considered with different agonists as well as changes in vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein platelet reactivity index and P-selectin expression. Inflammatory and thrombotic biomarkers were also measured before and after transfusion. RESULTS: After RBC transfusion, platelet reactivity was increased when measured using adenosine diphosphate-induced light transmission aggregometry (11.6% relative increase in maximal platelet aggregation, p = 0.004; 10.8% increase in residual platelet aggregation, p = 0.005) and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein platelet reactivity index (20.7% relative increase, p = 0.002), and there was a nonsignificant trend toward an increase in P-selectin expression. Similar results were found with the nonspecific agonist thrombin receptor-activated peptide (relative increases of 11.7% for maximal platelet aggregation, p = 0.04, and 12.7% for residual platelet aggregation, p = 0.02) but not with collagen or arachidonic acid agonists. There were no significant differences in inflammatory and thrombotic biomarkers before and after transfusion. CONCLUSIONS: After RBC transfusion, there is an increase in platelet reactivity, especially with tests measuring the adenosine diphosphate-P2Y12 receptor pathway, without significant variations in inflammatory or thrombotic biomarkers. This in vivo effect may account for the excess of ischemic events observed in the context of patients with ACS treated using percutaneous coronary intervention and P2Y12 inhibitors.

Anaemia to predict outcome in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Owing to the heterogeneous population of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), risk stratification with tools such as the GRACE risk score is recommended to guide therapeutic management and improve outcome. AIM: To evaluate whether anaemia refines the value of the GRACE risk model to predict midterm outcome after an ACS. METHODS: A prospective registry of 1064 ACS patients (63 ± 14 years; 73% men; 57% ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [MI]) was studied. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin less than 13 mg/dL in men or less than 12 mg/dL in women. The primary endpoint was 6-month death or rehospitalization for MI. RESULTS: The primary endpoint was reached in 132 patients, including 68 deaths. Anaemia was associated with adverse clinical outcomes (hazard ratio 3.008, 95% confidence interval 2.137-4.234; P<0.0001) in univariate analysis and remained independently associated with outcome after adjustment for the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score (hazard ratio 2.870, 95% confidence interval 1.815-4.538; P<0.0001). Anaemia provided additional prognostic information to the GRACE score as demonstrated by a systematic improvement in global model fit and discrimination (c-statistic increasing from 0.633 [0.571;0.696] to 0.697 [0.638;0.755]). Subsequently, adding anaemia to the GRACE score led to reclassification of 595 patients into different risk categories; 16.5% patients at low risk (≤ 5% risk of death or rehospitalization for MI) were upgraded to intermediate (>5-10%) or high risk (>10%); 79.5% patients at intermediate risk were reclassified as low (55%) or high risk (24%); and 45.5% patients at high risk were downgraded to intermediate risk. Overall, 174 patients were reclassified into a higher risk category (17.3%) and 421 into a lower risk category (41.9%). CONCLUSION: Anaemia provides independent additional prognostic information to the GRACE score. Combining anaemia with the GRACE score refines its predictive value, which often overestimates the risk.

High on-thienopyridine platelet reactivity in elderly coronary patients: the SENIOR-PLATELET study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to compare on-thienopyridine platelet reactivity of elderly patients (≥75 years) vs. younger patients (<75 years). Elderly patients represent a growing and challenging segment of the coronary population for whom the effect of dual antiplatelet therapy on platelet inhibition has not been specifically addressed. METHODS AND RESULTS: The SENIOR-PLATELET study included 1331 coronary patients chronically (>14 days) treated with aspirin and a thienopyridine (clopidogrel 75 mg, n= 1027; clopidogrel 150 mg, n= 139; or prasugrel 10 mg, n= 165). Platelet response to clopidogrel and prasugrel was assessed by the VerifyNow assay and light transmission aggregrometry (LTA). Response to treatment, rate of high platelet reactivity (HPR), and inhibition (HPI) were compared in the two age categories. On-treatment platelet reactivity with clopidogrel 75 mg, 150 mg or prasugrel 10 mg was higher in elderly patients (n= 205) than in younger patients (n= 1126) whichever the test used. The difference in P2Y(12) reaction units (PRU) between the two populations was +45 in patients treated with clopidogrel 75 mg (P< 0.0001), +30 in patients treated with clopidogrel 150 mg (P= 0.17), and +20 with prasugrel 10 mg (P= 0.10). Differences in residual platelet aggregation were consistent when measured by LTA. Elderly patients treated with clopidogrel 75 mg were more likely to have HPR than younger patients (38.2 vs. 18.2%, OR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.76-3.79; P< 0.0001) even after adjustment for potential confounders (adj OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.16-2.87; P= 0.009). CONCLUSION: Elderly patients present an impaired response to clopidogrel with a high rate of HPR. Clopidogrel 150 mg or prasugrel 10 mg blunt, but do not eliminate the difference in response observed between old and young patients.