Real-World Long-Term Effectiveness of Risankizumab Among Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis: Analysis from an International Medical Chart Review (RAPID) Study.

INTRODUCTION: Real-world data on the efficacy of risankizumab (RZB) in clinical moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) are limited. The RAPID study assessed real-world clinical and patient-reported outcomes in RZB-treated PsO patients using data collected from dermatologists in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, and Poland. METHODS: This ongoing, retrospective chart review collected data from medical records of RZB-treated adults with moderate-to-severe PsO (09/2022-06/2023). Eligible patients received RZB, had ≥ 12 months of medical records after RZB initiation (index date), and had Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Investigator Global Assessment (IGA), or static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA) scores ≥ 3 months before and up to 18 months after the index date. The proportion of patients achieving a clear/almost clear PsO (IGA/sPGA = 0/1), PASI ≤ 1, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) = 0/1, and a 90%/100% improvement from baseline in PASI as well as the mean changes in PASI, DLQI, itch, and skin pain scores at 12 and 18 months were reported for patients with non-missing assessments at baseline and 12 months. RESULTS: Most patients (66.4%) were male, 74.0% were biologic naïve, and 73.0% had scalp PsO. Mean baseline IGA/sPGA was 3.7 ± 0.5, with a mean PASI of 23.3 ± 11.8. After 12 months, 86.1% of patients reported IGA/sPGA ≤ 1, and 75.7% achieved PASI90; these further increased to 91.1% and 80.5% at 18 months. DLQI, itch, and skin pain scores improved over time. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrated the durable, real-world effectiveness of RZB in patients with moderate-to-severe PsO through continued improvement in disease and symptom severity over 18 months, with most of the patients reporting clear/almost clear skin.

The effect of the National Kidney Registry on the kidney-exchange market.

We assess the causal effect of the National Kidney Registry (NKR), the largest national kidney-exchange network in the U.S., on kidney-exchange outcomes. Analyzing a unique database hosted by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) that contains information on all kidney donors, wait-listed candidates, and transplant recipients in the U.S., we find that patients in an NKR hospital are 2.5-3 times more likely than their counterparts in a non-NKR hospital to receive a transplant from a living donor, conditional on wait-time. At the same time, NKR participation does not have a significant effect on the desirability of donors and the health status of recipients. We employ various approaches to ensure our finding is robust in addressing the non-random sorting of patients and donors. As far as the outcomes we study, the expansion of the NKR brings about an overall positive impact on the kidney exchange market.