A Semi-Automated Term Harmonization Pipeline Applied to Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Clinical Trials

Author(s):  
Ryan J. Urbanowicz ◽  
John H. Holmes ◽  
Dina Appleby ◽  
Vanamala Narasimhan ◽  
Stephen Durborow ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Data harmonization is essential to integrate individual participant data from multiple sites, time periods, and trials for meta-analysis. The process of mapping terms and phrases to an ontology is complicated by typographic errors, abbreviations, truncation, and plurality. We sought to harmonize medical history (MH) and adverse events (AE) term records across 21 randomized clinical trials in pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Methods We developed and applied a semi-automated harmonization pipeline for use with domain-expert annotators to resolve ambiguous term mappings using exact and fuzzy matching. We summarized MH and AE term mapping success, including map quality measures, and imputation of a generalizing term hierarchy as defined by the applied Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) ontology standard. Results Over 99.6% of both MH (N = 37,105) and AE (N = 58,170) records were successfully mapped to MedDRA low-level terms. Automated exact matching accounted for 74.9% of MH and 85.5% of AE mappings. Term recommendations from fuzzy matching in the pipeline facilitated annotator mapping of the remaining 24.9% of MH and 13.8% of AE records. Imputation of the generalized MedDRA term hierarchy was unambiguous in 85.2% of high-level terms, 99.4% of high-level group terms, and 99.5% of system organ class in MH, and 75% of high-level terms, 98.3% of high-level group terms, and 98.4% of system organ class in AE. Conclusion This pipeline dramatically reduced the burden of manual annotation for MH and AE term harmonization and could be adapted to other data integration efforts.

Author(s):  
Jacqueline V. Scott ◽  
Christine E. Garnett ◽  
Manreet K. Kanwar ◽  
Norman L. Stockbridge ◽  
Raymond L. Benza

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (02) ◽  
pp. 112-117
Author(s):  
Sanjay Tyagi ◽  
Vishal Batra

AbstractPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an uncommon disease characterized progressive remodeling of pulmonary vasculature. Although treatment for PAH have improved in last two decades but the outcome remains fatal. Currently, the therapies for PAH target three well-established pathways the nitric oxide (NO) pathway, endothelin receptors, and prostanoids. There are multiple potential targets for development of newer drugs in PAH which requires meticulous research and clinical trials.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 2356-2361 ◽  
Author(s):  
DINESH KHANNA ◽  
OLIVER DISTLER ◽  
JEROME AVOUAC ◽  
FRANK BEHRENS ◽  
PHILIP J. CLEMENTS ◽  
...  

There have been steady efforts to develop a combined response index for systemic sclerosis (CRISS). A parallel and equally successful effort has been made by an Expert Panel on Outcome Measures in PAH related to Systemic Sclerosis (EPOSS) to measure effect in treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension of systemic sclerosis (PAH-SSc). CRISS conducted a Delphi process combined with expert review to identify 11 candidate domains for inclusion in a core set of outcomes for SSc clinical trials: soluble biomarkers, cardiac, digital ulcers, gastrointestinal, global health, health related quality of life (HRQOL) and function, musculoskeletal, pulmonary, Raynaud’s, renal, and skin. Tools within domains were also agreed upon. Concentrating on one aspect of disease, PAH, EPOSS also conducted a Delphi process and judged the following domains as the most appropriate for randomized controlled trials in PAH-SSc: lung vascular/pulmonary arterial pressure, cardiac function, exercise testing; severity of dyspnea, discontinuation of treatment; quality of life/activities of daily living; global state; and survival. Possible useful tools within each domain were also agreed on. Patient derived, physician derived, and objective measures of response will be included and combined with the idea that each reflects different aspects of PAH (EPOSS) and overall disease (CRISS) although this assumption may not prove true and can be separated if statistically and clinically valid to do so. In either case, prospective studies will require measurement of all domains, and tools are required and will be developed to define appropriate combined measures of response. CRISS and EPOSS are being developed through the OMERACT process. Through Delphi process and literature review significant progress has been made for both indices, and prospective data are being collected.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 58-64
Author(s):  
D Yu Platonov ◽  
N A Tsareva ◽  
S N Avdeev

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life threatening syndrome, which is characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), medium pulmonary artery pressure and functional disorders and morphological changes of pulmonary arteries. Despite the relative abundance of PAH-specific drugs, the choice of a suitable agent for the treatment of a particular patient remains challenging. One of the most important parameters measured in clinical studies is patient survival or, in some cases, mortality. Survival or mortality as secondary or components of the primary endpoint one way or another has been studied in clinical trials of drugs for the treatment of PAH. For tablets drugs for the treatment of some forms of PAH (sildenafil, riociguat, bosentan, macitentan, ambrisentan) currently available data studies, which studied the survival.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 204589402094149
Author(s):  
Mark Toshner ◽  
Edda Spiekerkoetter ◽  
Harm Bogaard ◽  
Georg Hansmann ◽  
Sylvia Nikkho ◽  
...  

This manuscript on drug repurposing incorporates the broad experience of members of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute’s Innovative Drug Development Initiative as an open debate platform for academia, the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory experts surrounding the future design of clinical trials in pulmonary hypertension. Drug repurposing, use of a drug in a disease for which it was not originally developed, in pulmonary arterial hypertension has been a remarkable success story, as highlighted by positive large phase 3 clinical trials using epoprostenol, bosentan, iloprost, and sildenafil. Despite the availability of multiple therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension, mortality rates have modestly changed. Moreover, pulmonary arterial hypertension patients are highly symptomatic and frequently end up on parental therapy and lung transplant waiting lists. Therefore, an unmet need for new treatments exists and drug repurposing may be an important avenue to address this problem.


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