Evaluation of the safety profile of the quadrivalent vaccine against human papillomavirus in the risk of developing autoimmune, neurological, and hematological diseases in adolescent women in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer eradication is one of the main goals for 2030 by the World Health Organization, which can only be achieved with high vaccination rates against Human Papilloma Virus. In Colombia, more and better scientific evidence is required to increase confidence in vaccination. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety profile of the quadrivalent vaccine against HPV in the risk of developing autoimmune, neurological, and hematological diseases in adolescent women in Colombia. METHODS: We designed a cohort study based on national HPV vaccination records and incident diagnostic data for the diseases of special interest during 2012 and 2021. We included adolescent women between 9 and 19 years old and compared vaccinated and non-vaccinated cohorts using an Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPWT) method for each scenario disease and follow-up period (180 and 360 days). FINDINGS: The Odds Ratio (OR) of developing diseases of interest was estimated during two follow up periods, 180 and 360 days after the follow-up index date (Vaccination Day). The OR for developing rheumatoid arthritis was 4·4; CI95% (1·74 - 11·14), juvenile idiopathic arthritis was 2·76 IC95% (1·50 - 5·11), idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura was 2·54 IC95% (1·28 - 5·02) and thyrotoxicosis was 2·86 IC95% (1·03 - 7·95), when comparing the vaccinated versus unvaccinated population. However, the temporal distribution of cases incident did not reveal a clear difference between the cohorts, since the rate of appearance of new cases has a constant linear behavior for the two groups. INTERPRETATION: For rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and thyrotoxicosis; the application of the vaccine had an effect on the development of the disease. Nevertheless, our results should be interpreted with caution and be further studied, considering that the biological plausibility of the events occurred without a clear temporal pattern in relation to the exposure to the vaccine.

Effectiveness, immunogenicity, and safety of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine in women and men aged 27-45 years.

Among women aged 27-45 years, the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV; HPV6/11/16/18) vaccine was generally well tolerated, efficacious, and immunogenic in the placebo-controlled FUTURE III study (NCT00090220; n = 3253). The qHPV vaccine was also generally well tolerated and highly immunogenic in men aged 27-45 years who participated in the single-cohort mid-adult male (MAM) study (NCT01432574; n = 150). Here, we report results of a long-term follow up (LTFU) extension of FUTURE III with up to 10 years follow-up. To understand the relevance of the mid-adult women LTFU study in the context of mid-adult men vaccination, we report results from post-hoc, cross-study immunogenicity analyses conducted to compare immunogenicity (geometric mean titers; GMTs) at 1-month post-qHPV vaccine dose 3 in women and men aged 27-45 years versus women and men aged 16-26 years from prior efficacy studies. The qHPV vaccine demonstrated durable protection against the combined endpoint of HPV6/11/16/18-related high-grade cervical dysplasia and genital warts up to 10 years (median 8.9) post-dose 3 and sustained HPV6/11/16/18 antibody responses through approximately 10 years in women aged 27-45 years. Efficacy of qHPV vaccine in men aged 27-45 years was inferred based on the cross-study analysis of qHPV vaccine immunogenicity demonstrating non-inferior HPV6/11/16/18 antibody responses in men aged 27-45 years versus 16-26 years. In conclusion, durable effectiveness of the qHPV vaccine was demonstrated in women 27-45 years of age, and vaccine efficacy was inferred in men 27-45 years of age based on the serological results.

Pirfenidone increases the epithelialization rate of skin graft donor sites.

BACKGROUND: Improving epithelialization of donor sites of split-thickness skin grafts (STSG) is extremely important in burned patients. We aimed to assess the efficacy of pirfenidone, a drug with anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, and antioxidant effects, to accelerate wound healing. We hypothesized that pirfenidone accelerates the epithelialization rates in donor sites. METHODS: We included 28 patients requiring STSGs with donor sites of at least 7.5×10cm. After harvesting, the donor sites were randomly treated with either non-adherent gauze or topical pirfenidone and covered with non-adherent gauze. To assess epithelialization, biopsies were taken at day 7 and 10 on the pirfenidone group, and at day 10 on the control group. Percentage of epithelialization was assessed on the same days through clinical photographs. The pathologists and the clinical observer were blinded to the group and timepoint of the samples. RESULTS: 24 patients were included in the study, with a median age of 21(5-73) for control group and 28(9-61) for pirfenidone. The thickness of epithelium was 75.10±60µm at day 10 for the control group; and 98.21±6µm at day 7, and 108±22µm at day 10 for the pirfenidone group (p=<0.05). Epithelization rate was 83.58±14.09% at day 10 for the control group; and 98.7±1.8% at day 7, and 99.5±1.6% at day 10 for the pirfenidone group. CONCLUSIONS: Pirfenidone is efficient in reducing the healing times when applied in STSG donor sites, at both days 7 and 10.

Case for diagnosis. A bluish nodule on the scalp.

Acrospiroma, also known as hidradenoma, is a rare cutaneous tumor that has several histological characteristics. As a consequence, a high index of suspicion is necessary for its diagnosis. Here we report a case that illustrates the importance of a good clinical-pathologic correlation in order to recognize this disease.

Case for diagnosis. A bluish nodule on the scalp

Abstract: Acrospiroma, also known as hidradenoma, is a rare cutaneous tumor that has several histological characteristics. As a consequence, a high index of suspicion is necessary for its diagnosis. Here we report a case that illustrates the importance of a good clinical-pathologic correlation in order to recognize this disease.

An Atrophic Plaque with Arborizing Vessels.

Dermatofibromas are a common finding in the daily clinical practice. Most lesions are found incidentally or because patients seek medical attention due to the aspect of the lesion. Rare variants of dermatofibroma such as aneurismatic or atrophic dermatofibroma can be encountered simultaneously; thus, these combined features may raise the possibility of other diagnoses to be considered. By providing diverse clinical and dermoscopic examples of dermatofibromas, we may prevent misdiagnosing these lesions. This case illustrates how two rare variants of dermatofibroma can coexist. Clinical presentation of dermatofibromas may vary greatly, and it is essential for dermatologists to recognize them clinically and dermoscopically before obtaining histopathological diagnosis.

Evaluación de seguridad de la vacuna contra el virus del papiloma humano / Safety assessment of the human papillomavirus vaccine

Introducción: el cáncer de cuello uterino es en Colombia el segundo cáncer con mayor frecuencia y mortalidad en mujeres. Las vacunas contra el virus del papiloma humano (VPH) han mostrado efectividad para prevenir la infección por el virus y las lesiones precancerosas asociadas, sin embargo, se han reportado eventos negativos en salud, posiblemente asociados con la aplicación de la vacuna. Objetivo: examinar la seguridad del uso de la vacuna profiláctica contra el VPH. Metodología: se realizó una búsqueda sistemática en MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database, IBECS, LILACS y fuentes complementarias. La selección de estudios se realizó por dos revisores independientes de acuerdo con criterios de elegibilidad predefinidos. Se incluyeron estudios experimentales, observacionales analíticos y observacionales descriptivos que reportaran desenlaces de seguridad y efectividad de la vacuna contra el VPH. La calidad de los estudios analíticos fue valorada mediante herramientas previamente definidas, de acuerdo a cada diseño. Los estudios descriptivos fueron considerados con alta probabilidad de sesgo. La calidad de la evidencia fue evaluada para cada desenlace reportado mediante la etodología Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Los resultados por cada desenlace fueron reportados de forma narrativa y presentados en perfiles de evidencia GRADE (estudios analíticos) y tablas de evidencia genéricas (estudios descriptivos). Resultados: fueron seleccionados 112 estudios que reportaron 305 resultados de desenlaces de seguridad reportados \r\nposterior a la aplicación de la vacuna contra el VPH, que incluyeron desenlaces para los cuales la vacunación mostró asociación estadísticamente significativa como factor de riesgo, desenlaces para los cuales la vacunación no mostró asociación como factor de riesgo, y desenlaces para los cuales la vacunación mostró resultados inconsistentes. La calidad de la evidencia fue baja y muy baja para la mayoría de los resultados reportados. Discusión y conclusión: Las principales debilidades de la evidencia identificada fueron falta de periodos adecuados de seguimiento para eventos de aparición tardía, falta de precisión de los resultados, y limitaciones en la medición de los desenlaces, verificación del periodo de latencia de \r\nlos mismos y control de los potenciales factores de confusión. Los determinantes más relevantes de \r\nla calidad fueron la falta de precisión de los resultados, probablemente por la baja frecuencia de los \r\neventos, y el carácter observacional de los estudios que evaluaron la mayor parte de los desenlaces \r\nreportados. Los resultados de asociación reportados no permiten establecer causalidad entre los \r\neventos y la vacunación. La baja calidad de la evidencia no implica que los resultados no sustenten \r\nla existencia, o no, de las asociaciones evaluadas; ni que los resultados no sean suficientes para \r\norientar decisiones; sino que es probable que estudios con mayor rigor metodológico muestren \r\nresultados diferentes. La mejor evidencia disponible hasta la fecha sustenta un adecuado perfil de \r\nseguridad de la vacuna contra el VPH, similar al reportado por la OMS para otras vacunas, que apoya \r\nsu utilización teniendo en cuenta los beneficios reportados en la literatura; sin que sea posible descartar la ocurrencia de eventos adversos graves raros, por lo cual es recomendable la \r\nimplementación de un sistema de vigilancia posvacunación, que garantice un apropiado reporte, \r\ndiagnóstico, seguimiento, análisis y retroalimentación a los usuarios, de los posibles eventos adversos de la vacunación, con enfoque en los eventos descritos en esta evaluación. (AU)