Cardiovascular event in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients in Castilla-La Mancha: Utility of carotid ultrasound.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has a mortality rate 1,3 to 3 times higher than the general population, with cardiovascular mortality accounting for 40-50% of cases. Currently, cardiovascular disease is considered an extraarticular manifestation of RA (OR: 1,5-4,0). Ultrasound measurement of the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques (AP) is a non-invasive method and a surrogate marker of subclinical arteriosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: To determine if subclinical arteriosclerosis findings through carotid ultrasound can serve as a good predictor of cardiovascular events (CVE) development in a cohort of RA patients over a 10-year period. METHODOLOGY: A cohort of RA patients seen in the Rheumatology outpatient clinic of a hospital in Castilla La Mancha in 2013 was evaluated. A prospective evaluation for the development of CVE over the following 10 years was conducted, and its correlation with previous ultrasound findings of IMT and AP was analyzed. RESULTS: Eight (24%) patients experienced a CVE. Three (9%) had heart failure, three (9%) had a stroke, and two (6%) experienced acute myocardial infarction. RA patients who developed a CVE had a higher IMT (0,97 +/- 0.08 mm) compared to the RA patients without CV complications (0,74 +/- 0.15 mm) (p = 0,003). The presence of IMT ≥ 0.9 mm and AP had a relative risk of 12,25 (p = 0,012) and 18,66 (p = 0,003), respectively, for the development of a CVE. CONCLUSIONS: Carotid ultrasound in RA patients may allow for early detection of subclinical atherosclerosis before the development of CVE, with IMT ≥ 0.9 mm being the most closely associated finding with CVE, unaffected by age.

Imbalanced machine learning classification models for removal biosimilar drugs and increased activity in patients with rheumatic diseases.

OBJECTIVE: Predict long-term disease worsening and the removal of biosimilar medication in patients with rheumatic diseases. METHODOLOGY: Observational, retrospective descriptive study. Review of a database of patients with immune-mediated inflammatory rheumatic diseases who switched from a biological drug (biosimilar or non-biosimilar) to a biosimilar drug for at least 6 months. We selected the most important variables, from 18 variables, using mutual information tests. As patients with disease worsening are a minority, it is very difficult to make models with conventional machine learning techniques, where the best models would always be trivial. For this reason, we computed different types of imbalanced machine learning models, choosing those with better f1-score and mean ROC AUC. RESULTS: We computed the best-imbalanced machine learning models to predict disease worsening and the removal of the biosimilar, with f1-scores of 0.52 and 0.63, respectively. Both models are decision trees. In the first one, two important factors are switching of biosimilar and age, and in the second, the relevant variables are optimization and the value of the initial PCR. CONCLUSIONS: Biosimilar drugs do not always work well for rheumatic diseases. We obtain two imbalanced machine learning models to detect those cases, where the drug should be removed or where the activity of the disease increases from low to high. In our decision trees appear not previously studied variables, such as age, switching, or optimization.

Evento cardiovascular en una cohorte de pacientes con artritis reumatoide en Castilla-La Mancha, utilidad de la ecografía carotídea / Cardiovascular event in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients in Castilla-La Mancha: Utility of carotid ultrasound

La artritis reumatoide (AR) presenta una mortalidad de 1,3-3 veces superior a la población general donde destaca la mortalidad de origen cardiovascular con un 40-50%. Actualmente se considera la enfermedad cardiovascular como una manifestación extraarticular de la AR, siendo un factor de riesgo independiente de los tradicionales, con un riesgo elevado de enfermedad cardiovascular (OR: 1,5-4,0). La medición ecográfica del grosor íntimo medial (GIM) de la arteria carótida común y la presencia de placas ateromatosas es un método no invasivo y marcador subrogado de arterioesclerosis subclínica. Objetivo: Establecer si los hallazgos de arterioesclerosis subclínica por ecografía carotídea pueden ser un buen predictor del desarrollo de eventos cardiovasculares (ECV) en una cohorte de pacientes con AR a 10 años. Metodología: Se evaluó una cohorte de pacientes con AR atendidos en consulta externa de Reumatología de una hospital de Castilla-La Mancha durante el año 2013. Se realizó una evaluación para el desarrollo de ECV a los 10 años siguientes de comenzado el estudio y se analizó su correlación con los hallazgos ecográficos previos de GIM y placas ateromatosas. Resultados: Ocho (24%) pacientes presentaron un ECV. Tres (9%), episodio de fallo cardiaco; 3 (9%) accidente cerebrovascular y 2 (6%) episodio de infarto agudo al miocardio. Los pacientes con AR que desarrollaron un ECV habían presentado un GIM mayor (0,97±0,08mm) en comparación con los pacientes con AR que no tuvieron complicaciones cardiovasculares (0,74±0,15mm) (p=0,003). La presencia de un GIM≥0,9mm y placas ateromatosas representó un riesgo relativo de 12,25 (p=0,012) y 18,66 (p=0,003), respectivamente, para el desarrollo de un ECV. Conclusiones: La ecografía carotídea en pacientes con AR nos podría permitir la detección precoz de aterosclerosis subclínica antes del desarrollo de ECV, siendo fundamentalmente el GIM≥0,9mm el hallazgo más asociado a ECV y no influenciado por la edad.(AU)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a mortality rate 1.3–3 times higher than the general population, with cardiovascular mortality accounting for 40%–50% of cases. Currently, cardiovascular disease is considered an extra-articular manifestation of RA (OR: 1.5–4.0). Ultrasound measurement of the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques is a non-invasive method and a surrogate marker of subclinical arteriosclerosis. Objective: To determine if subclinical arteriosclerosis findings through carotid ultrasound can serve as a good predictor of cardiovascular events (CVE) development in a cohort of RA patients over a 10-year period. Methodology: A cohort of RA patients seen in the rheumatology outpatient clinic of a hospital in Castilla-La Mancha in 2013 was evaluated. A prospective evaluation for the development of CVE over the following 10 years was conducted, and its correlation with previous ultrasound findings of IMT and atherosclerotic plaques was analyzed. Results: Eight (24%) patients experienced a CVE. Three (9%) had heart failure, three (9%) had a stroke, and two (6%) experienced acute myocardial infarction. RA patients who developed a CVE had a higher IMT (0.97±0.08mm) compared to the RA patients without cardiovascular complications (0.74±0.15mm) (P=.003). The presence of IMT≥0.9mm and atherosclerotic plaques had a relative risk of 12.25 (P=.012) and 18.66 (P=.003), respectively, for the development of a CVE. Conclusions: Carotid ultrasound in RA patients may allow for early detection of subclinical atherosclerosis before the development of CVE, with IMT≥0.9mm being the most closely associated finding with CVE, unaffected by age.(AU)