scholarly journals Efficacy of low dose pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: real world experience from a tertiary university hospital

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Myung Jin Song ◽  
Sung Woo Moon ◽  
Ji Soo Choi ◽  
Sang Hoon Lee ◽  
Su Hwan Lee ◽  
...  

AbstractPirfenidone is an antifibrotic agent that has been proven to slow down the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose pirfenidone (that is, less than 1200 mg/day). We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with IPF. The patients were divided into the following three groups, those who were not treated with pirfenidone (control) and those who were treated with pirfenidone at doses < 1200 mg/day (low-dose group) and ≥ 1200 mg/day (high-dose group). The adjusted mean changes in forced vital capacity (FVC) in 1 year were − 200.7, − 88.4, and − 94.7 mL in the control, low-dose, and high-dose groups (p = 0.021). The FVC declined more significantly in the control group than in the low-dose and high-dose groups. No significant difference in FVC change was observed between the low-dose and high-dose groups. Dyspepsia, anorexia, and nausea were significantly more frequent in the low-dose than in the high-dose group, suggesting that dose reduction is attributed to gastrointestinal tract-related adverse events. Dose reduction may help patients to better control gastrointestinal tract-related adverse events; continuing taking the medication at low doses is also expected to be effective in reducing the FVC decline.

2021 ◽  
pp. 2102518
Author(s):  
Manuel Taboada ◽  
Nuria Rodríguez ◽  
Pablo Manuel Varela ◽  
María Teresa Rodríguez ◽  
Romina Abelleira ◽  
...  

BackgroundLow dose dexamethasone demonstrated clinical improvement in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) needing oxygen therapy; however, evidence on the efficacy of high dose of dexamethasone is limited.MethodsWe performed a randomised, open-label, controlled trial involving hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia needing oxygen therapy. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive low dose dexamethasone (6 mg once daily for 10 days) or high dose dexamethasone (20 mg once daily for 5 days, followed by 10 mg once daily for additional 5 days). The primary outcome was clinical worsening within 11 days since randomisation. Secondary outcomes included 28-day mortality, time to recovery, and clinical status at day 5, 11, 14 and 28 on an ordinal scale ranging from 1 (discharged) to 7 (death).ResultsA total of 200 patients (mean (sd) age, 64 (14) years; 62% male) were enrolled. Thirty-two patients of 102 (31.4%) enrolled in the low dose group and 16 of 98 (16.3%) in the high dose group showed clinical worsening within 11 days since randomisation (rate ratio, 0.427; 95% CI, 0.216–0.842; p=0.014). The 28-day mortality was 5.9% in the low dose group and 6.1% in the high dose group (p=0.844). There was no significant difference in time to recovery, and in the 7-point ordinal scale at day 5, 11, 14 and 28.ConclusionsAmong hospitalised COVID-19 patients needing oxygen therapy, high dose of dexamethasone reduced clinical worsening within 11 days after randomisation as compared with low dose.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Ito ◽  
Takeshi Kodaira ◽  
Yutaro Koide ◽  
Takahito Okuda ◽  
Shinichiro Mizumatsu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Abdominal/pelvic lymph node (LN) oligometastasis is a pattern of failure that is observed occasionally. Although radiotherapy may be useful for salvage therapy, the optimal prescription dose has not yet been clarified. This study assessed the efficacy of high-dose radiotherapy. Methods: Between 2008 and 2018, the medical records of 113 patients with 1–5 abdominal/pelvic LN oligometastases treated with definitive radiotherapy at 4 institutes were retrospectively analysed. The exclusion criteria were non-epithelial tumours, uncontrolled primary lesions, palliative intent, and re-irradiation. The prescription dose was evaluated by using the equivalent dose in 2 Gy fractions (EQD2); patients with EQD2 ≥60 Gy were the high-dose group. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the endpoints of overall survival (OS), local control (LC), and progression-free survival (PFS). Univariate log-rank and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analyses were performed to clarify predictive factors for each endpoint. Toxicity rates were compared between the high-dose and low-dose groups. Results: The primary tumour sites included the colorectum (n = 28), uterine cervix (n = 27), endometrium (n = 15), and ovaries (n = 10). The 2-year OS, LC, and PFS rates were 63.1%, 59.7%, and 19.4%, respectively. On multivariate analyses, solitary oligometastasis, high-dose radiotherapy, and long disease-free interval were associated with significantly favourable OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.48, p = 0.02), LC (HR: 0.93, p < 0.001), and PFS (HR: 0.59, p = 0.01), respectively. Although high-dose radiotherapy did not significantly improve the 2-year OS of the entire cohort (74.8% vs. 52.7% in the high-dose vs. low-dose group; p = 0.08), it showed a significant difference on subgroup analysis for solitary oligometastasis (88.8% vs. 56.3%; p = 0.009). Late grade ≥3 toxicity included ileus in 7 cases (6%) and gastrointestinal bleeding in 4 (4%). There was no significant association between the irradiation dose and toxicity incidence. Conclusions: Salvage radiotherapy was feasible for oligometastasis of the abdominal/pelvic LNs. For solitary oligometastasis, the high-dose group showed favourable results considering LC and OS.


Neurosurgery ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Giannotta ◽  
Martin H. Weiss ◽  
Michael L.J. Apuzzo ◽  
Evangeline Martin

Abstract Eighty-eight patients with a Glasgow coma score of 8 or less 6 hours after nonpenetrating head trauma were given either high dose methylprednisolone sodium succinate (30 mg/kg q6h ×2, then 250 mg q6h ×6, then tapering over 8 days), low dose methylprednisolone (1.5 mg/kg q6h ×2, then 25 mg q6h ×6, then tapering over 8 days), or placebo. Standard care including the removal of traumatic hematomas, assisted ventilation, and intracranial pressure monitoring and control was carried out. Follow-up assessments were performed on all surviving patients at 6 months and were graded according to the Glascow outcome scale. No statistically significant difference in outcome was seen between the low dose group and the placebo group. The high dose group experienced a mortality of 39% as compared to a 52% mortality in the low dose and placebo groups (P &lt; 0.05). Mortality differences were most marked in patients less than 40 years old, with the high dose group experiencing a mortality of 6% as compared to a 43% mortality for the low dose and placebo groups (P &lt; 0.05). For patients under 50 years old, the incidence of recovery of speech was 62% compared to 36% in the low dose and placebo groups (P &lt; 0.5). The increased survival in those treated with high dose corticoids, however, was associated with an increase in the poorer outcome categories.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
PEK GHE TAN ◽  
Jennifer O'Brien ◽  
Megan Griffith ◽  
Marie Condon ◽  
Tom Cairns ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Rituximab is a proven effective induction and remission-maintenance treatment in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). Studies have identified hypogammaglobulinemia, infection, and late-onset neutropenia as potential adverse events. There is limited data on long-term outcomes following extended periods of B-cell depletion therapy with rituximab in AAV cohorts. We conducted a retrospective study to examine the safety profile of repeated rituximab treatment in AAV. Method All patients with AAV treated with rituximab between 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2018 were identified through local dispensary database. Patients were stratified into low (≤4g), medium (&gt;4g to ≤8g) and high (&gt;8g) dose groups according to the cumulative rituximab dose received until 1st October 2019. Baseline characteristics and events including death, opportunistic and severe infections (defined as infections required hospitalization and/or intravenous antibiotic administration), neutropenia (neutrophil count ≤1.5x109/L), hypogammaglobulinemia (IgG level≤5.0), infusion reactions and malignancy diagnosed post-rituximab treatment were examined and compared between the groups. Results 364 patients (49% male, 52 year old mean age) received rituximab for treatment of active disease or remission maintenance. 49%(n=175) had repeat rituximab treatments (267/513 treatment courses for relapsing disease and 247/513 for remission maintenance). There were 262 (72%), 70(19%) and 32(9%) patients in low-, medium- and high-dose groups respectively. The median cumulative rituximab dose for each group was 2g, 6g and 12g (p&lt;0.001). Low-dose group patients were older (59 and 40 years, p&lt;0.001) and more likely to have renal-limited disease compared to high-dose groups (19%vs4%; p&lt;0.05). Conversely, there were more ear-nose-throat (ENT) /ocular limited (41% and 13%; p&lt;0.05) and antiproteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA positive disease (56% vs 38%, p&lt;0.05) in high-dose compared to low-dose group. The overall median duration of follow up was 72 months (QR: 28-135months)(Table1). Outcomes (Table2): Infections: no difference in serious or opportunistic infection rate between groups (1.2 vs 0.1 vs 0.1infections/patient/year; p=0.18). 77% of opportunistic infections across all groups were related to herpesvirus (e.g. Cytomegalovirus/Herpes Zoster/Herpes Simplex) reactivation. Hypogammaglobulinemia: incidence was comparable between groups (9.7% vs 10% vs 9%, p=0.91). Overall median time to event was 5 months from first rituximab. Neutropenia: 101 patients had recorded neutropenia after rituximab (Low-dose: 32%; medium-dose 16% and High-dose: 22%, p&lt;0.05). All were related to concurrent immunosuppressants (e.g. Azathioprine, cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate) or infection. Events resolved after withdrawal or reduction of concurrent immunosuppressant or treatment of underlying infection. Cancer: No difference in malignancy rate between groups (6% vs 14% vs 3%, p=0.22). 39 malignancies reported in 32 patients post rituximab treatment. The two commonest reported cancers were skin (36%) and breast cancer (21%) Deaths: 58 patients died during the study period. Mortality rate in the low and medium-dose groups were comparable (82% survival at 30 month after last rituximab). Conversely, there were no deaths in the high-dose group. Conclusion In this large, single-centre cohort of patients with AAV, we did not observe an increased incidence of adverse events with increasing cumulative rituximab exposure. This likely reflects physician bias in patient selection for repeat treatment and suggests that in selected patients, extended periods of rituximab treatment might be safe. The superior survival seen in high-dose group was likely related to higher proportion of ENT/ocular limited vasculitis.


2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 870-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARA L. BECKER ◽  
CARLOS D. ROSÉ ◽  
RANDY Q. CRON ◽  
DAVID D. SHERRY ◽  
WARREN B. BILKER ◽  
...  

Objective.To compare the incidence of liver toxicity and clinical response between 2 initial dosing regimens of methotrexate (MTX) for treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).Methods.Clinical and laboratory data were abstracted from the medical records of 220 children newly prescribed MTX from the same geographic region. One cohort received initial doses of MTX > 0.5 mg/kg/week (“high-dose”) and one cohort received initial doses of MTX ≤ 0.5 mg/kg/week (“low-dose”). Toxicity was defined as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) above the normal range, and positive clinical response was defined as a reduction in active joint count during the first 6 months of MTX therapy.Results.One hundred twenty-six children were in the high-dose MTX group, 94 in the low-dose MTX group. At 6 months, the high-dose group was more likely to have an elevated AST or ALT (adjusted OR 3.89, 95% CI 1.82–8.29, p < 0.0001). Subjects receiving both MTX and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) had no significant difference between groups in change of active joint count, while subjects in the high-dose group but not taking NSAID had more active joints (p = 0.036) at 6 months compared to the low-dose group.Conclusion.Initial high-dose MTX was associated with an increased risk of at least one liver enzyme abnormality with no significant improvement in active joint count. This suggests that there is no apparent benefit, while the potential for liver toxicity is increased, when using higher doses of MTX at treatment inception in patients with JIA.


Chemotherapy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenna Wang ◽  
Jing Huang ◽  
Yunxia Tao ◽  
Xiao Lyu ◽  
Lin Yang ◽  
...  

Background: We investigated the efficacy and safety of biweekly irinotecan and cisplatin (IP) as first-line treatment in advanced gastric cancer patients. Methods: Irinotecan 125 mg/m2 on day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on day 2 were administrated every 14 days. UGT1A1*28/*6 and toxicities were analyzed. Results: Forty-one eligible patients were enrolled. Fifteen patients, who were defined as the high-dose group, received starting doses of irinotecan 125 mg/m2. Twenty-six patients, who were defined as the low-dose group, received starting doses of irinotecan 80 mg/m2 and cisplatin 50 mg/m2. The response rate was 53.3% in the irinotecan high-dose group and 53.8% in the irinotecan low-dose group. The most common grade 3/4 toxicity was neutropenia (68.3%). No significant difference in grade 3/4 neutropenia was found between patients with the wild-type genotype and those with variant genotypes for UGT1A1*28 or UGT1A1*6. Conclusions: The combination of biweekly irinotecan 80 mg/m2 and cisplatin 50 mg/m2 was active and tolerable. The role of the UGT1A1 genotype in clinical toxicity of an IP regimen requires further investigation.


Author(s):  
Zeinab Imani ◽  
Nesa Milan ◽  
Hossein Nematian ◽  
Leila Aghaghazvini ◽  
Mojtaba Sedaghat ◽  
...  

Background: This study was designed to achieve a new method as a preventive treatment for complications of growth plate fractures. In this study, we investigate the effect of intra-articular injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) antibody bevacizumab on the repair process of articular cartilage in a type 4 Salter Harris injury model. Methods: A Salter Harris injury was created on the proximal tibial growth plate of 14 rats by a 1.8 mm drill. The rats were randomly classified into two groups: group LD, administration of high-dose intra-articular injection of bevacizumab (250 μg), and group HD, administration of low-dose intra-articular injection of bevacizumab (50 μg) after injury. The rats were killed 2 months postoperatively and their tibia underwent micro-computed tomography (CT) analysis, histological assessment, and measurement of tibial bone length. Results: Bony bar formation was observed in 71% of the samples in the high-dose group and in 100% of the low-dose group. Relative increase in physeal cartilage thickness (P = 0.007) and decrease in bony bar formation (P = 0.029) were observed significantly in the high dose group. There was no significant difference in tibia length between the two groups (P = 0.150). Conclusion: Intra-articular administration of bevacizumab demonstrated positive restorative effects. We suggest this method of treatment due to its potential of improving cartilage repair and capability to be used as a main or adjacent treatment in osteochondral defects.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Toshiaki Iba ◽  
Jerrold H. Levy ◽  
Koichiro Aihara ◽  
Katsuhiko Kadota ◽  
Hiroshi Tanaka ◽  
...  

(1) Background: The endothelial glycocalyx is a primary target during the early phase of sepsis. We previously reported a newly developed recombinant non-fucosylated antithrombin has protective effects in vitro. We further evaluated the effects of this recombinant antithrombin on the glycocalyx damage in an animal model of sepsis. (2) Methods: Following endotoxin injection, in Wistar rats, circulating levels of hyaluronan, syndecan-1 and other biomarkers were evaluated in low-dose or high-dose recombinant antithrombin-treated animals and a control group (n = 7 per group). Leukocyte adhesion and blood flow were evaluated with intravital microscopy. The glycocalyx was also examined using side-stream dark-field imaging. (3) Results: The activation of coagulation was inhibited by recombinant antithrombin, leukocyte adhesion was significantly decreased, and flow was better maintained in the high-dose group (both p < 0.05). Circulating levels of syndecan-1 (p < 0.01, high-dose group) and hyaluronan (p < 0.05, low-dose group; p < 0.01, high-dose group) were significantly reduced by recombinant antithrombin treatment. Increases in lactate and decreases in albumin levels were significantly attenuated in the high-dose group (p < 0.05, respectively). The glycocalyx thickness was reduced over time in control animals, but the derangement was attenuated and microvascular perfusion was better maintained in the high-dose group recombinant antithrombin group (p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: Recombinant antithrombin maintained vascular integrity and the microcirculation by preserving the glycocalyx in this sepsis model, effects that were more prominent with high-dose therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 841-849
Author(s):  
Chunmei Xu ◽  
Ping Wang ◽  
Huikai Miao ◽  
Tianyue Xie ◽  
Xiaojun Zhou ◽  
...  

AbstractA potential reduction of goiter volume (GV) of recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) on multinodular goiters (MNG) was previously reported but controversial. Hence we conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the effect of rhTSH-stimulated radioiodine therapy in patients with MNG. PubMed, Cochrane, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases were searched. Mean difference (MD) and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were derived by using an inverse variance random-effects model and fixed-effects model, respectively. Six studies (n=237) were involved in the analysis. For 12 months follow up, high dose (>0.1 mg) of rhTSH significantly reduced GV (MD=17.61; 95% CI=12.17 to 23.04; p<0.00001) compared with placebo. No effective pooled results of low dose of rhTSH (<0.1 mg) were applicable for only one study included. For 6 months follow up, the source of heterogeneity was determined by subgroup and sensitivity analysis. High dose group showed vast improvement in GV reduction (MD=16.62; 95% CI=1.34 to 31.90; p=0.03). The reduction of low dose group compared with placebo was inferior to high dose group. No available data were obtained to assess the influence of rhTSH after 36 months follow up for the only included study. Hypothyroidism incidence was higher for rhTSH group. No publication bias was seen. High dose of rhTSH treatment-stimulated radioactive 131I therapy after 6 months and 12 months follow up had a better effect in reducing GV, but with higher incidence of hypothyroidism. Owing to the limited methodological quality, more clinical researches are warranted in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-705
Author(s):  
Jianhui Ma ◽  
Meimei Pang ◽  
Xin Ding ◽  
Shirong Fang ◽  
Lichao Chu

Objective. To explore the effect of different doses of propofol and nerve block combined with general anesthesia on the intraoperative anesthesia and postoperative awakening and cognitive function in elder patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods. According to the inclusion criteria for research object, we selected 98 elderly patients with knee OA who needed surgery and were admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2021 for the study. Patients were divided into the low dose group (given 2 mg/kg propofol by pumping under constant speed during surgery) and the high dose group (given 4 mg/kg propofol by pumping during surgery) by the number table method to compare their indicators including the intraoperative anesthesia effect, with 49 cases in each group. Results. No between-group difference was shown in the anesthesia time and postoperative VAS scores, but the awakening time of the low dose group was significantly shorter than that of the high dose group (P<0.05); the differences in heart rate (HR) values at various time points between the two groups were not obvious, but the high dose group obtained significantly higher HR values at T4 than the low dose group; the mean arterial pressure (MAP) values of both groups were significantly reduced at Ti and then returned to the level before anesthesia (P>0.05); the bispectral index scores (BIS) of both groups experienced a marked drop at Ti and then recovered gradually, but failed to return to the level at T0 till the end, and a between-group difference in BIS indexes presented at Ti; the plasma corticosterone (CORT) concentration at Ti of both groups were significantly lowered and then returned to the level at T0, with no between-group difference; and compared with the low dose group, the high dose group achieved slightly lower mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores at 24-72 h after surgery, with no significant difference between them (P>0.05). Conclusion. The therapy of different doses of propofol and nerve block combined with general anesthesia has no significant effect on the cognitive function in elderly knee OA patients after surgery. With the nerve block improving the analgesic effect, a low dose of propofol is good for the postoperative awakening of patients. Different doses of propofol inhibited the stress response to a different degree and produced good anesthesia outcomes in elderly patients, but comparatively speaking, a low-dose propofol ensures more smooth indexes and less effect on the intraoperative hemodynamics.


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