Impact of COVID-19 on Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination of Psoriatic Patients in Germany: Results from Vac-Pso.

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates have been reported before the COVID-19 pandemics in certain populations at risk for severe infection. The aim of this longitudinal cohort study was to investigate changes in influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates and patient perceptions in patients with psoriasis (PsO) before and during the pandemic. METHODS: Data on vaccination, patient and disease characteristics, comorbidity, and patient perceptions were collected with questionnaires before and during the pandemic approximately one year later. RESULTS: Over the whole cohort who participated in the follow-up visit (n = 287; 59.2% male; mean age: 56.3 years), both influenza and pneumococcal lifetime vaccination prevalences increased significantly from 50.5% to 66.2% and from 16.0% to 41.5%, respectively. A total of 88.5% of PsO patients were interested in a COVID-19 vaccination or had already received it. The reasons for and against vaccinations changed significantly before and during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a promising increase in the vaccination prevalence in our PsO cohort, it remains important that awareness for vaccinations is encouraged and closely monitored in future research, particularly in populations at risk.

Real-world experience with filgotinib for rheumatoid arthritis in Germany : A retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: Real-world data for filgotinib, a Janus kinase (JAK)1 inhibitor, are limited in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OBJECTIVES: To explore real-world filgotinib use in patients with RA in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective chart review included patients aged ≥ 18 years with confirmed moderate to severe RA who initiated filgotinib before December 1, 2021, with ≥ 6 months of medical records available prior to filgotinib initiation or after initial diagnosis. Patient characteristics, prior treatments, reasons for initiating/discontinuing filgotinib, disease activity, dose adjustments and concomitant treatments were recorded. RESULTS: In total, 301 patients from 20 German rheumatology outpatient units were included. One-third were aged ≥ 65 years and almost half had ≥ 1 cardiovascular (CV) risk factor. Most patients initiated filgotinib as monotherapy (83.7%; 12.7% of whom with glucocorticoids) and at the 200 mg dose (84.7%); higher proportions of those initiating the 100 versus 200 mg dose were aged ≥ 65 years and had renal impairment or ≥ 1 CV risk factor. Oral administration (78.4%), fast onset of action (66.8%) and administration as monotherapy (65.4%) were the most common reasons for initiating filgotinib. At 12 months, 41 (18.4%) patients had discontinued filgotinib, most commonly due to lack of effectiveness. After 6­months of follow-up, 36.8% of patients had achieved Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) remission and 45.6% had achieved CDAI low disease activity. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice in Germany, reasons for initiating filgotinib in patients with RA were related to dosing flexibility and general JAK inhibitor attributes. Filgotinib was used predominantly as monotherapy and was effective and generally well tolerated; however, longer-term data in larger, prospective cohorts are needed.

Patients' preferences for systemic treatment of atopic dermatitis: safety and efficacy count the most.

BACKGROUND: The advent of biologics and janus kinase inhibitors has revolutionized treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). OBJECTIVE: To investigate preferences of patients with AD for attributes of currently approved systemic treatments and assess influencing factors. METHODS: An online discrete choice experiment was conducted in patients with AD throughout Germany to analyze preferences for outcome (probability of (almost) clear skin at week 16, probability of significant itch improvement, time to onset of itch relief and type of side effects) and process attributes (application method and frequency of laboratory tests). RESULTS: Participants (n = 182, 75.3% female) considered side effects (Relative Importance Score (RIS): 31.2), (almost) clear skin (RIS: 24.2) and probability of itch improvement (RIS: 16.0) most important. Application method (RIS: 14.4), time to onset of itch relief (RIS: 7.4) and frequency of laboratory tests (RIS: 6.8) were less relevant. Preferences were significantly influenced by sex, age, psychiatric comorbidity, current therapy and health-related quality of life according to multivariate regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Participants attached great importance to safety and symptom control. However, preferences were also dependent on individual characteristics, underscoring the importance of personal counseling. Conjoined with medical considerations, patients' preferences have fundamental impact on shared decisions for treatment of AD.

Rates of clinical remission and inadequate response to advanced therapies among patients with ulcerative colitis in Germany.

PURPOSE: Many patients treated for ulcerative colitis (UC) do not achieve clinical remission. This real-world study assessed clinical remission and inadequate response rates among patients with UC in Germany treated with advanced therapies. METHODS: This retrospective chart review included patients with UC newly initiating advanced (index) therapy (anti-TNFα agents, vedolizumab, tofacitinib) from January 2017-September 2019 (index date). Included patients had data for ≥ 12 months before (baseline period) and after the index date (follow-up period). Remission was defined as a partial Mayo score ≤ 1. Indicators of inadequate response were: index therapy discontinuation; therapy adjustments (index therapy dose escalation; augmentation with non-advanced therapies; corticosteroid [CS] use during maintenance therapy); CS dependency (use for ≥ 12 weeks); and UC-related hospitalisation, surgery or emergency department visit. Time to first remission and inadequate response were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier analyses. RESULTS: Among 149 patients with UC (median age: 40 years), 96 (64.4%) were biologic-naïve and 42 (28.2%) received CS at the index date. Within 12 months, 52 patients (47.2%) were in remission; of these, 13 patients (25.0%) received ≥ 1 therapy adjustment. At 12 months, 55 patients (37.6%) had ≥ 1 indicator of an inadequate response. Median time to remission was longer among biologic-experienced vs biologic-naïve patients (24 vs 7 months; p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: Over half of the patients were not in clinical remission after 12 months and more than one-third experienced inadequate response. One-quarter of patients in remission required therapy adjustments. Patients with UC require therapies that are more effective than those currently available to achieve better treatment outcomes.

The incidence of remission and indicators of inadequate response to advanced therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis: results from medical charts in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: A considerable proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) treated with advanced therapies do not achieve remission, even after 1 year of treatment, and suboptimal response to advanced therapies is frequently observed in clinical practice. This study aimed to analyze clinical practice data in the United Kingdom (UK) and assess the rates of clinical remission and inadequate response with advanced therapies among patients with UC. METHODS: This retrospective chart review included patients with UC who initiated a new advanced therapy (i.e. adalimumab, infliximab, golimumab, tofacitinib, or vedolizumab) between January 2017 and September 2019 from eight clinics across the UK. At least 12 months of data before and after starting an advanced therapy were required. Remission was assessed using components of the Mayo score. Inadequate response was defined by therapeutic adjustment or emergency treatment. RESULTS: Among 238 patients included (female: 46.6%; median age: 42.0 years; median follow-up: 28.8 months), 178 patients (74.8%) were biologic-naïve. At 12 months, 87 patients (53.9%) had achieved remission (median time to remission: 7.6 months), although 29 (33.3%) among them had required therapeutic modifications to achieve remission. At 12 months, 105 patients (44.3%) had at least one indicator of an inadequate response (median time to the first indicator of inadequate response: 18.0 months). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the patients did not achieve remission, and almost half of the included patients had an inadequate response within 1 year after treatment initiation. More effective therapies are needed to effectively treat UC.

Treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) follows a stepwise approach that considers disease severity and disease activity. It has the goal of achieving and maintaining steroid-free remission and healing of the gut lining. Treatment options for UC include several conventional and advanced therapies. However, suboptimal response to treatment has been reported in previous observational studies. This results in treatment adjustments, such as therapy discontinuation, dose intensification, and addition of conventional therapies, as well as lengthy concurrent use of corticosteroids.This retrospective chart review evaluated clinical practice data from eight clinics across the United Kingdom. This was done to assess rates of clinical remission and indicators of suboptimal response to advanced therapies among patients with UC. The analysis included data from January 2017 to September 2019.Nearly half of the patients did not have clinical remission within 1 year after starting advanced therapies. Optimization of advanced therapies was often seen, even in patients in remission. The most common indicators of suboptimal therapy were therapy discontinuation, dose escalation of advanced therapy, and the addition of conventional therapies. Our findings suggest that the efficacy of advanced therapies to treat UC remains insufficient in clinical practice. Thus, there is a need for more effective treatment alternatives to achieve better outcomes for patients with UC.