Is Tocilizumab Plus Dexamethasone Associated with Superinfection in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients?

BACKGROUND: Dexamethasone and tocilizumab are used to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). We explored whether combination therapy increased the risk of superinfection compared to dexamethasone alone. METHODS: This observational, retrospective study included critically ill COVID-19 adult patients admitted to our ICU because of respiratory failure. Patients received dexamethasone with (Group 1) or without (Group 2) tocilizumab. Data were collected from electronic medical files. RESULTS: A total of 246 patients were included, of whom 150 received dexamethasone and tocilizumab, while 96 received dexamethasone alone. Acute respiratory distress syndrome was evident on admission in 226 patients, 56 of whom required mechanical ventilation (MV). Superinfections, mainly respiratory, were diagnosed in 59 patients, including 34/150 (23%) in Group 1 and 25/96 (26%) in Group 2 (p = 0.32). After multivariate analysis, the factors associated with a higher risk of superinfection included hematological malignancy (hazard ratio (HR): 2.47 (1.11-5.47), p = 0.03), MV (HR: 3.74 (1.92-7.26), p = 0.0001), and a higher SAPS-II score on admission (HR: 1.03 (1.01-1.06), p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: In critically ill COVID-19 patients, the addition of tocilizumab to dexamethasone was not associated with an increased risk of superinfection.

Faisabilité de la transfusion de plasma de donneurs convalescents pour COVID-19 en réanimation

La transfusion de plasma de donneurs convalescents (PDC) au cours de la COVID-19 est controversée. En France, hors essai clinique, elle est encadrée par un protocole à usage thérapeutique soumis à un avis multidisciplinaire (RCP) préalable. L'expérience de ce traitement en réanimation n'est pas décrite. Tous les patients admis dans une unité de réanimation d'un CHU pour un SDRA COVID-19 et ayant une PCR plasmatique SARS-CoV-2 positive au moins 10 jours après le début des symptômes ont reçu une transfusion de PDC après validation en RCP. L'objectif principal était d'évaluer la tolérance et la virémie 7 j après la transfusion (J7). Entre mai 2020 et avril 2021, 31 patients (27 hommes et 4 femmes, âge moyen = 69 ans) ont été inclus et ont reçu un volume médian de 836 mL de PDC sur 2 jours consécutifs. Tous présentaient au moins un facteur de risque de forme grave dont 15 une affection maligne évolutive et 14 avaient une sérologie SARS-CoV-2 négative à l'admission en réanimation. Les PDC ont été transfusés en moyenne 18 j après le début des symptômes et 8 j après l'admission en réanimation. À J7, 22/31 patients avaient une PCR plasmatique négative. Le délai médian de négativation de la PCR plasmatique était de 8 j. À J 7, le score de sévérité clinique OMS était stable pour 12/31 (39 %), en amélioration pour 14/31 (45 %) et détérioré pour 5/31 (16 %) patients. La mortalité à 28 jours était de 26 % (8/31 dont 3 dans les sept jours après PDC). Aucun évènement indésirable significatif lié à la transfusion n'a été rapporté. Notre étude confirme la faisabilité de la transfusion de PDC en réanimation, notamment en cas d'immunodépression humorale. (French) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Transfusion Clinique et Biologique is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

HbA1c <7.0% 6 Months after Initiation of Second-Line Therapy in Patients with Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes Is Associated with Good Glycemic Control at 3 Years: The DISCOVER Study

Background: DISCOVER is a 3-year, observational study of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) initiating a second-line glucose-lowering therapy in 38 countries. We assessed glycemic control after 3 years in participants with HbA1c ≥ 9.0% at baseline. Methods: Factors associated with an increased likelihood of having HbA1c < 7.0% after 3 years were assessed using a hierarchical logistic regression model. Results: Of 14 691 DISCOVER participants from 37 countries, 2233 (15.2%) had sufficient HbA1c data and HbA1c ≥ 9.0% at baseline. The majority of participants were men (58.0%), and the mean age was 54.4 years (SD: 11.2 years). The mean HbA1c at baseline was 10.4% (SD: 1.4%). After 3 years, 626 participants (28.0%) had HbA1c < 7.0% and 438 (19.6%) had HbA1c ≥ 9.0%. Time since T2D diagnosis ≥ 10 years (vs.< 5 years) was associated with a decreased likelihood of having HbA1c < 7.0% at 3 years (Figure). Second-line therapy with two or more glucose-lowering drugs (vs. insulin) and having HbA1c < 7.0% at 6 months (24.2% of patients) were associated with an increased likelihood of having HbA1c < 7.0% at 3 years. Conclusions: Less than a third of participants with HbA1c ≥ 9.0% at initiation of second-line therapy reached HbA1c < 7.0% after 3 years. Early glycemic control (HbA1c < 7.0% at 6 months) was a key factor associated with attaining this target. Disclosure: F. Bonnet: Consultant;Self;Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi-Aventis. H. Chen: None. A. Cooper: Employee;Self;AstraZeneca. M.B. Gomes: None. L. Ji: None. P. Leigh: Employee;Self;AstraZeneca. Employee;Spouse/Partner;Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. L. Ramirez Gutierrez: None. M.V. Shestakova: None. I. Shimomura: Advisory Panel;Self;AstraZeneca K.K., Daiichi Sankyo, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Consultant;Self;MSD K.K., Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. Research Support;Self;Astellas Pharma Inc., Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Kowa Company, Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, MSD K.K., Novartis Pharma K.K., Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sanofi K.K., Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Teijin Pharma Limited. Speaker's Bureau;Self;Amgen Astellas BioPharma K.K., Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca K.K., Covidien Japan Inc., Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly Japan K.K., KOBAYASHI Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kowa Company, Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, MSD K.K., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co. Ltd., Nippon Chemiphar Co., Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sanofi K.K., Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Teijin Pharma Limited. A. Siddiqui: None. F. Tang: Research Support;Self;AstraZeneca. J. Vora: Other Relationship;Self;AstraZeneca. H. Watada: Advisory Panel;Self;Abbott, Ajinomoto, Astellas Pharma Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Fuji Film, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kowa Company, Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Novo Nordisk Inc., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sanofi-Aventis, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Terumo Medical Corporation. Research Support;Self;Astellas Pharma Inc., Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kowa Company, Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Novartis Pharma K.K., Novo Nordisk Inc., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Teijin Pharma Limited, Yakult. Speaker's Bureau;Self;stellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca, Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kowa Company, Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novo Nordisk Inc., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sanofi-Aventis, Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. K. Khunti: Advisory Panel;Self;Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Berlin-Chemie AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Board Member;Self;AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi-Aventis. Consultant;Self;Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Berlin-Chemie AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Research Support;Self;AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Speaker's Bureau;Self;Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Berlin-Chemie AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Funding: AstraZeneca [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Diabetes is the property of American Diabetes Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

High-resolution Free-breathing late gadolinium enhancement Cardiovascular magnetic resonance to diagnose myocardial injuries following COVID-19 infection.

PURPOSE: High-resolution free-breathing late gadolinium enhancement (HR-LGE) was shown valuable for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes with non-obstructed coronary arteries. The method may be useful to detect COVID-related myocardial injuries but is hampered by prolonged acquisition times. We aimed to introduce an accelerated HR-LGE technique for the diagnosis of COVID-related myocardial injuries. METHOD: An undersampled navigator-gated HR-LGE (acquired resolution of 1.25 mm3) sequence combined with advanced patch-based low-rank reconstruction was developed and validated in a phantom and in 23 patients with structural heart disease (test cohort; 15 men; 55 ± 16 years). Twenty patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection associated with troponin rise (COVID cohort; 15 men; 46 ± 24 years) prospectively underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) with the proposed sequence in our center. Image sharpness, quality, signal intensity differences and diagnostic value of free-breathing HR-LGE were compared against conventional breath-held low-resolution LGE (LR-LGE, voxel size 1.8x1.4x6mm). RESULTS: Structures sharpness in the phantom showed no differences with the fully sampled image up to an undersampling factor of x3.8 (P > 0.5). In patients (N = 43), this acceleration allowed for acquisition times of 7min21s ± 1min12s at 1.25 mm3 resolution. Compared with LR-LGE, HR-LGE showed higher image quality (P = 0.03) and comparable signal intensity differences (P > 0.5). In patients with structural heart disease, all LGE-positive segments on LR-LGE were also detected on HR-LGE (80/391) with 21 additional enhanced segments visible only on HR-LGE (101/391, P < 0.001). In 4 patients with COVID-19 history, HR-LGE was definitely positive while LR-LGE was either definitely negative (1 microinfarction and 1 myocarditis) or inconclusive (2 myocarditis). CONCLUSIONS: Undersampled free-breathing isotropic HR-LGE can detect additional areas of late enhancement as compared to conventional breath-held LR-LGE. In patients with history of COVID-19 infection associated with troponin rise, the method allows for detailed characterization of myocardial injuries in acceptable scan times and without the need for repeated breath holds.

Feasibility of convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 viremia.

This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) in COVID-19 critically ill patients with protracted severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNAemia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in intensive care unit (ICU). All patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia for whom RNAemia remained positive more than 14 days after onset of the infection were included and given CPT. The primary objective was to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia 7 days (D7) after CPT. A total of 14 patients were included and they received a median CPT volume of 828 ml (range: 817-960). CPT was administered in a median time of 14 days after ICU admission. At D7, 13/14 patients had negative SARS-CoV-2 blood PCR and one patient had negative blood PCR 11 days after CPT. At D7 and at D14, the clinical status was improved in 7/14 and 11/14 patients, respectively. The 28-day mortality rate was 14%. No CPT-related adverse effects had been reported. CPT is safe and may be efficient in patients with protracted RNAemia admitted in ICU for severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.

Neglecting Plasma Protein Binding in COVID-19 Patients Leads to a Wrong Interpretation of Lopinavir Overexposure.

Boffito et al. recalled the critical importance to correctly interpret protein binding. Changes of lopinavir pharmacokinetics in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are a perfect illustration. Indeed, several studies described that total lopinavir plasma concentrations were considerably higher in patients with severe COVID-19 than those reported in patients with HIV. These findings have led to a reduction of the dose of lopinavir in some patients, hypothesizing an inhibitory effect of inflammation on lopinavir metabolism. Unfortunately, changes in plasma protein binding were never investigated. We performed a retrospective cohort study. Data were collected from the medical records of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 treated with lopinavir/ritonavir in intensive care units or infectious disease departments of Toulouse University Hospital (France). Total and unbound concentrations of lopinavir, C reactive protein, albumin, and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) levels were measured during routine care on the same samples. In patients with COVID-19, increased total lopinavir concentration is the result of an increased AAG-bound lopinavir concentration, whereas the unbound concentration remains constant, and insufficient to reduce the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load. Although international guidelines have recently recommended against using lopinavir/ritonavir to treat severe COVID-19, the description of lopinavir pharmacokinetics changes in COVID-19 is a textbook case of the high risk of misinterpretation of a total drug exposure when changes in protein binding are not taken into consideration.

Safety of hydroxychloroquine and darunavir or lopinavir in COVID-19 infection.

BACKGROUND: Combination therapy with hydroxychloroquine and darunavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir has been suggested as an approach to improve the outcome of patients with moderate/severe COVID-19 infection. OBJECTIVES: To examine the safety of combination therapy with hydroxychloroquine and darunavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir. METHODS: This was an observational cohort study of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia treated with hydroxychloroquine and darunavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir. Clinical evaluations, electrocardiograms and the pharmacokinetics of hydroxychloroquine, darunavir and lopinavir were examined according to clinical practice and guidelines. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients received hydroxychloroquine with lopinavir/ritonavir (median age 68 years; 10 males) and 25 received hydroxychloroquine with darunavir/ritonavir (median age 71 years; 15 males). During treatment, eight patients (17.4%) developed ECG abnormalities. Ten patients discontinued treatment, including seven for ECG abnormalities a median of 5 (range 2-6) days after starting treatment. All ECG abnormalities reversed 1-2 days after interrupting treatment. Four patients died within 14 days. ECG abnormalities were significantly associated with age over 70 years, coexisting conditions (such as hypertension, chronic cardiovascular disease and kidney failure) and initial potential drug interactions, but not with the hydroxychloroquine concentration. CONCLUSIONS: Of the patients with COVID-19 who received hydroxychloroquine with lopinavir or darunavir, 17% had ECG abnormalities, mainly related to age or in those with a history of cardiovascular disease.