Risk of Severe Acute Localized Reactions for Different Intraarticular Hyaluronic Acid Knee Injections in a Real-World Setting

Objective: Case reports of severe acute localized reactions (SALR) following intraarticular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) injections for knee osteoarthritis (OA) have been described. We compared surrogate SALR measures between patients using hylan G-F 20 and specific non-hylan G-F 20 HA products. Design: Knee OA patients were identified from the Optum Clinformatics dataset (January 2006 to June 2016), stratified into hylan G-F 20 and non-hylan G-F 20 HA users, matched by single or multiple injection products. Occurrences of surrogate SALR measures including inflammation/infection, intraarticular corticosteroid (CS) injections, arthrocentesis/aspiration, arthrotomy/incision and drainage, and arthroscopy were evaluated within 3 days post-HA. Results: Based on 694,404 HA injections, inflammation/infection rate was rare within 3 days of HA (up to 0.03%), with no statistical differences between hylan G-F 20 and non-hylan G-F 20 groups (matched by single or multiple injection products). The risk of knee arthrotomy/incision and drainage, arthroscopy, or arthrocentesis for hylan G-F 20 (2 mL) 3 weekly injection patients was lower than Hyalgan/Supartz and Orthovisc patients, but greater than Euflexxa patients. Overall, we found that Hylan G-F 20 (2 mL) 3 weekly injection had lower SALR rates compared to Hyalgan/Supartz and Orthovisc. However, Hylan G-F 20 (2 mL) 3 weekly injection had slightly higher rates of SALR when compared to Euflexxa. Among the single injection products, Hylan G-F 20 (6 mL) single injection had lower rates of SALR than Monovisc and Gel-One. Conclusions: This study shows no clear correlation between avian-derived or cross-linked products and SALR and provides evidence against avian-derived products or crosslinking as a source for these reactions.

Factors Driving Patient Preferences for Growth Hormone Treatment in Japanese Children With Growth Hormone Deficiency

Background: There are no any clear evidence to date has evaluating patients and caregiver preferences for r-hGH (recombinant-human growth hormone) injection in children in Japan. This study quantitatively evaluated the factors driving preferences for daily r-hGH injection among Japanese children with Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) or their respective caregivers to determine the relative importance of treatment delivery attributes. This study was performed amongst Japanese children with GHD or their caregivers who visited a specialized clinic in Japan as part of their routine care between June and July 2020. Methods: The participants were asked to complete a web-based discrete choice experiment (DCE) questionnaire using a handheld tablet device during a routine clinical visit. DCE is a quantitative method widely used in healthcare to elicit preferences from participants in the absence of revealed preference data. Choice-based conjoint analysis was used to evaluate the relative importance of attributes as choice predictors and determine utilities for each attribute. Of the 47 respondents who participated in this study, 41 were caregivers who responded on behalf of the patients, and the remaining 6 were patients who completed the DCE themselves. All participants were screened by a clinician to ensure they met all eligibility criteria. Results: The injection schedule was found to be the most important attribute for both patients and caregivers (Relative importance: 43.6%); a once-weekly injection schedule was preferred over a daily injection schedule. For maintenance of injection devices, patients had a stronger preference for reusable pens which can be used by replacing cartridges, while caregivers preferred disposable pen devices. The storage and preparation attribute was deemed more important to patients than it was to caregivers, with patients preferring storage in room temperature even if it needed an additional mixing(reconstitution) step. Both patients and caregivers showed a clear preference for devices that offered a dose setting memory. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that patients prefer a once-weekly injection schedule over a daily injection schedule. A less frequent injection schedule should enhance adherence and compliance to r-hGH treatment over the long term and will also improve QoL in children with GHD. The benefits of a less frequent injection schedule can be further explored using real-world studies.

A comparative study on concurrent chemoradiation using cisplatin versus carboplatin in the management of locoregionally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Background: Concurrent chemoradiation is considered the standard care for locoregionally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. This study aimed to compare the treatment response, progression free survival and treatment toxicities between cisplatin and carboplatin based concurrent chemoradiation.Methods: Between October 2015 and September 2017, 60 eligible patients were enrolled and divided into two arms of 30 patients each. Arm A received EBRT to chest (60Gy/30 fractions) with concurrent weekly Injection Cisplatin 35mg/m2. Arm B received EBRT to chest (60Gy/30 fractions) with concurrent weekly Injection Carboplatin at a dose of AUC-2. Early treatment response was assessed at 1 month and late treatment response at 6 months after completion of radiation using RECIST criteria. Treatment toxicities was assessed using RTOG toxicity criteria. All statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 21.Results: Most patients were in the age range of 61-70 years. Mean age of presentation was 67.53±11.038 years in Arm A and 66.03±12.794 years in Arm B. Median follow up was 16 months for both arms. Response rate of was slightly better in Arm A (73.3% versus 60%). 1 year PFS rate was 53.33% in Arm A and 36.67% in Arm B. Median time to progression was better in Arm A (11 months vs 10 months). Toxicities were almost comparable in both the arms.Conclusions: Use of carboplatin in combination with radiation therapy is comparable to cisplatin in terms of treatment outcomes with better compliance and lower toxicity.

Is There a Role for Biweekly Romiplostim in the Management of Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)? A Report of Three Cases

Romiplostim is a peptibody, which stimulates platelet production by a mechanism similar to that of endogenous thrombopoietin. It has an established indication as second-line therapy in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The agent is typically administered weekly; however, there are instances where a biweekly (i.e., alternate week) dosing may be feasible in a select group of patients. We conducted a retrospective case review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of biweekly administration of romiplostim in maintaining a platelet count of >30 × 109/L in three patients with chronic ITP. Treatment was started with a weekly injection (1 µg/kg) with a dose escalation to achieve a platelet count >30 × 109/L. Once stable on weekly romiplostim, these patients received biweekly administration. No bleeding complications were noted during biweekly dosing for these patients. The current findings suggest that lengthening the dose interval of romiplostim is feasible in select patients with chronic ITP to maintain stable platelet counts. Additional studies are therefore warranted to further evaluate biweekly dosing for romiplostim to increase convenience and decrease costs for patients with chronic ITP.