Risk loci involved in giant cell arteritis susceptibility: a genome-wide association study.

BACKGROUND: Giant cell arteritis is an age-related vasculitis that mainly affects the aorta and its branches in individuals aged 50 years and older. Current options for diagnosis and treatment are scarce, highlighting the need to better understand its underlying pathogenesis. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have emerged as a powerful tool for unravelling the pathogenic mechanisms involved in complex diseases. We aimed to characterise the genetic basis of giant cell arteritis by performing the largest GWAS of this vasculitis to date and to assess the functional consequences and clinical implications of identified risk loci. METHODS: We collected and meta-analysed genomic data from patients with giant cell arteritis and healthy controls of European ancestry from ten cohorts across Europe and North America. Eligible patients required confirmation of giant cell arteritis diagnosis by positive temporal artery biopsy, positive temporal artery doppler ultrasonography, or imaging techniques confirming large-vessel vasculitis. We assessed the functional consequences of loci associated with giant cell arteritis using cell enrichment analysis, fine-mapping, and causal gene prioritisation. We also performed a drug repurposing analysis and developed a polygenic risk score to explore the clinical implications of our findings. FINDINGS: We included a total of 3498 patients with giant cell arteritis and 15 550 controls. We identified three novel loci associated with risk of giant cell arteritis. Two loci, MFGE8 (rs8029053; p=4·96 × 10-8; OR 1·19 [95% CI 1·12-1·26]) and VTN (rs704; p=2·75 × 10-9; OR 0·84 [0·79-0·89]), were related to angiogenesis pathways and the third locus, CCDC25 (rs11782624; p=1·28 × 10-8; OR 1·18 [1·12-1·25]), was related to neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). We also found an association between this vasculitis and HLA region and PLG. Variants associated with giant cell arteritis seemed to fulfil a specific regulatory role in crucial immune cell types. Furthermore, we identified several drugs that could represent promising candidates for treatment of this disease. The polygenic risk score model was able to identify individuals at increased risk of developing giant cell arteritis (90th percentile OR 2·87 [95% CI 2·15-3·82]; p=1·73 × 10-13). INTERPRETATION: We have found several additional loci associated with giant cell arteritis, highlighting the crucial role of angiogenesis in disease susceptibility. Our study represents a step forward in the translation of genomic findings to clinical practice in giant cell arteritis, proposing new treatments and a method to measure genetic predisposition to this vasculitis. FUNDING: Institute of Health Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, UK Medical Research Council, and National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Safety of Drugs Used during the First Wave of COVID-19: A Hospital-Registry-Based Study.

The emergency of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to the off-label use of drugs without data on their toxicity profiles in patients with COVID-19, or on their concomitant use. Patients included in the COVID-19 Patient Registry of a tertiary hospital during the first wave were analyzed to evaluate the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) with the selected treatments. Twenty-one percent of patients (197 out of 933) had at least one ADR, with a total of 240 ADRs. Patients with ADRs were more commonly treated with multiple drugs for COVID-19 infection than patients without ADRs (p < 0.001). They were younger (median 62 years vs. 70.1 years; p < 0.001) and took less medication regularly (69.5% vs. 75.7%; p = 0.031). The most frequent ADRs were gastrointestinal (67.1%), hepatobiliary (10.8%), and cardiac disorders (3.3%). Drugs more frequently involved included lopinavir/ritonavir (82.2%), hydroxychloroquine (72.1%), and azithromycin (66.5%). Although most ADRs recovered without sequelae, fatal cases were described, even though the role of the disease could not be completely ruled out. In similar situations, efforts should be made to use the drugs in the context of clinical trials, and to limit off-label use to those drugs with a better benefit/risk profile in specific situations and for patients at high risk of poor disease prognosis.

Are Temporal Artery Biopsy Findings Related to PET/CT Findings in Giant Cell Arteritis?

BACKGROUND: Two clinical subsets of giant cell arteritis have been identified with different histological and CT findings. However, PET/CT findings have not been compared with temporal artery biopsy (TAB). OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to describe clinical and histological findings in patients with giant cell arteritis according to the presence or absence of aortitis in PET/CT at the disease diagnosis, and to identify independent factors related to aortic involvement. METHODS: Patients were included and followed prospectively. Clinical symptoms and TAB findings were recorded. PET/CT was performed in the first 10 days of steroid therapy. Aortitis was defined if a grade 3 uptake on visual analysis was present on arterial wall. Clinical and histological variables were compared according to the presence or absence of aortitis on PET/CT. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify independent factors related to the presence of aortitis. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients (median age, 77.6 years) were included. PET/CT was performed with a median delay of 5.0 days. Aortitis was observed in 8 patients. Patients with aortitis were younger (69.9 vs 83.7 years, P = 0.04) and had less frequently ischemic manifestations (25.0% vs 84.2%, P = 0.006) than patients without aortitis. Giant multinucleated cells were more frequent on TAB from patients with aortitis (71.4% vs 16.7%), and its presence was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of aortic involvement on PET/CT (odds ratio, 12.2; P = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that giant cells on TAB are associated with the presence of aortitis on PET/CT. Patients with aortic involvement are younger and show less frequently ischemic manifestations.

Síndrome de Sjögren y afectación pulmonar / Pulmonary involvement in Sjögren's syndrome

El síndrome de Sjögren es una enfermedad autoinmune que afecta a las glándulas exocrinas. Su sintomatología característica es el síndrome seco en forma de xeroftalmia y xerostomía, pero puede afectar a diversos órganos o sistemas y la afectación extraglandular es la que condiciona el pronóstico de la enfermedad. Típicamente se asocia con la presencia de anticuerpos antinucleares, que incluyen anti-Ro-60. La afectación pulmonar aparece en forma de bronquiectasias y/o neumopatía intersticial. Dada la alta prevalencia de esta complicación, su presencia debe descartarse en todos los pacientes con síntomas respiratorios mediante pruebas de función respiratoria y tomografía computarizada de alta resolución torácica. Se puede completar la valoración mediante biopsia transbronquial en aquellos casos en que existan dudas diagnósticas. El tratamiento incluye glucocorticoterapia, terapia inmunosupresora o antifibrótica, y terapia biológica. En caso de mala evolución se debe valorar el trasplante pulmonar.

Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that involves exocrine glands. The most characteristic symptoms consist of the sicca syndrome (including xerostomia and dry eye – xerophtalmia), but can involve multiple organs. The extraglandular involvement determines the prognosis. It is typically associated with the presence of antinuclear antibodies, including Ro-60 antibodies. Pulmonary involvement appears as bronchiectasis and/or interstitial pneumonia. Considering its high prevalence, it must be ruled out in all patients with respiratory symptoms by performing pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest. Evaluation can be completed with a transbronchial biopsy if diagnostic doubts persist. Treatment includes steroid therapy, inmunosupressive or antifibrotic drugs, or biological therapy. In selected cases pulmonary transplantation must be considered. (AU)

[Pulmonary involvement in Sjögren's syndrome]. / Síndrome de Sjögren y afectación pulmonar.

Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that involves exocrine glands. The most characteristic symptoms consist of the sicca syndrome (including xerostomia and dry eye - xerophtalmia), but can involve multiple organs. The extraglandular involvement determines the prognosis. It is typically associated with the presence of antinuclear antibodies, including Ro-60 antibodies. Pulmonary involvement appears as bronchiectasis and/or interstitial pneumonia. Considering its high prevalence, it must be ruled out in all patients with respiratory symptoms by performing pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest. Evaluation can be completed with a transbronchial biopsy if diagnostic doubts persist. Treatment includes steroid therapy, inmunosupressive or antifibrotic drugs, or biological therapy. In selected cases pulmonary transplantation must be considered.

Usefulness of PCR Screening in the Initial Triage of Trauma Patients During COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Hospitals worldwide have postponed all nonessential surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, but non-COVID-19 patients are still in urgent need of care. Uncertainty about a patient's COVID-19 status risks infecting health care workers and non-COVID-19 inpatients. We evaluated the use of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) screening for COVID-19 on admission for all patients with fractures. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients older than 18 years admitted with low-energy fractures who were tested by RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV-2 at any time during hospitalization. Two periods based on the applied testing protocol were defined. During the first period, patients were only tested because of epidemiological criteria or clinical suspicion based on fever, respiratory symptoms, or radiological findings. In the second period, all patients admitted for fracture treatment were screened by RT-qPCR. RESULTS: We identified 15 patients in the first period and 42 in the second. In total, 9 (15.8%) patients without clinical or radiological findings tested positive at any moment. Five (33.3%) patients tested positive postoperatively in the first period and 3 (7.1%) in the second period (P = 0.02). For clinically unsuspected patients, postoperative positive detection went from 3 of 15 (20%) during the first period to 2 of 42 (4.8%) in the second (P = 0.11). Clinical symptoms demonstrated high specificity (92.1%) but poor sensitivity (52.6%) for infection detection. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom-based screening for COVID-19 has shown to be specific but not sensitive. Negative clinical symptoms do not rule out infection. Protocols and separated areas are necessary to treat infected patients. RT-qPCR testing on admission helps minimize the risk of nosocomial and occupational infection. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Tigecycline-associated hypofibrinogenemia in a real-world setting.

Background Tigecycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat infections that do not respond to first-line treatments. High-doses and extended treatments are common; therefore, adverse events might be more frequent and severe than those observed in clinical trials. Several case-reports have referred hypofibrinogenemia in patients who received tigecycline. Objective To analyse the impact of tigecycline use on coagulation parameters, and identify which variables could be related with this. Setting The study was performed at Hospital Universitari Vall Hebron, in Barcelona, Spain. Method Observational, retrospective study. All patients older than 18, who received tigecycline for > 72 h from January 2016 to March 2018 were included. Clinical and laboratory data from before, during and at the end of tigecycline treatment were retrospectively collected. Differences between means were analyzed using the paired-sample Student's t-test. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for hypofibrinogenemia. Main outcome measure Mean difference in fibrinogen plasma concentration and INR, before and at the end of tigecycline treatment. Results 78 patients (mean age 65; SD ± 15.5 years) were identified. The most common indications for tigecycline treatment were abdominal (66%), respiratory tract (16%) and skin&soft tissue (10%) infections. High-dose tigecycline was used in 62% of cases and the median duration of treatment was 12 days. Hypofibrinogenemia occurred in 12 patients, 5 bleeding events were observed and 4 of them required fibrinogen administration. Tigecycline caused significant alterations in fibrinogen plasma concentration (mean decrease 1.76 g/L; IC 95% 1.36 to 2.15) as well as INR (mean increase 0.11; IC 95% 0.05 to 0.17). Both were recovered after treatment cessation. We identified duration of treatment > 4 weeks (OR = 6.6), high-dose tigecycline (OR = 4.75) and high protein C levels (OR = 4.2) as independent variables associated with fibrinogen decrease, but not renal impairment. Conclusions Tigecycline administration has been related with hypofibrinogenemia, especially when high-doses of tigecycline are used. Health professionals should be aware of the potentially severe tigecycline-associated hypofibrinogenemia and monitor coagulation during treatment, especially when high-doses of tigecycline are used.

Efectividad de una intervención educativa multidisciplinar en pacientes con fractura de fémur: estudio SWEET HOME / Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary educational intervention in patients with hip fracture: SWEET HOME study

Antecedentes y objetivo: La fractura de fémur (FF) es una lesión frecuente en personas de edad avanzada. El objetivo fue evaluar la efectividad de una intervención educativa multidisciplinar en pacientes con FF para favorecer el regreso al domicilio y disminuir las complicaciones hospitalarias. Material y método: Estudio cuasiexperimental con medidas repetidas al ingreso, al alta, a los 30días y al año de seguimiento. Se incluyeron pacientes ≥65años con FF ingresados en la unidad de ortogeriatría entre febrero de 2016 y enero de 2017. La intervención educativa constó de dos actuaciones coordinadas: una educación sanitaria durante la hospitalización y un soporte multimodal durante la transición al domicilio. Resultados: Se incluyeron 67 pacientes (77,6% mujeres; edad 84,19±7,78 años). Regresaron al domicilio el 70,1%, doblando la cifra de los años 2014-2015. Hubo un 8,5% de reingresos a los 30días y al año. Al año, el nivel de dependencia fue cercano al nivel prefractura (Barthel: 86,67±19,31; 94,33±14,66), la movilidad mejoró respecto al alta (Parker: 4,73±1,84; 6,73±2,76; Timed Up and Go test: 38,29±21,27; 21,91±10,97) y el rendimiento cognitivo no empeoró de forma significativa. La percepción de pacientes, cuidadores y profesionales fue que la educación sanitaria mejoró la autonomía del paciente. La satisfacción con el proceso asistencial fue alta. Conclusiones: Este estudio aporta como novedad, a los beneficios ya descritos en los modelos asistenciales ortogeriátricos, el incremento del número de pacientes que regresan al domicilio en condiciones de seguridad

Background and objective: Hip fracture is a common injury among elderly patients. The main goal of our study was to assess the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary educational intervention aimed at hip fracture patients to promote home discharges and reduce in-hospital complications. Material and method: A quasi-experimental study was performed by taking repeated measurements at hospital admission, at hospital discharge, and at both 30days and one year of discharge. Patients aged ≥65years with hip fracture who were admitted to the Orthogeriatric Service between February 2016 and January 2017 were included in the study. The educational intervention consisted in two coordinated actions: patient education administered during their hospitalization and multimodal support provided during their discharge home. Results: A total of 67 patients were included in the study (77.6% of whom were women; 84.19±7,78 years old). Of these, 70.1% were discharged home, which doubles the figures recorded in the 2014-2015 period. The rate of readmission at 30days and one year of the discharge was 8.5%. At the one-year follow-up, the patient's dependence to perform basic activities of daily living was nearer to the pre-fracture level (Barthel: 86.67±19.31; 94.33±14.66), their mobility had improved in comparison with the time of discharge (Parker: 4.73±1.84; 6.73±2.76; Timed Up and Go Test: 38.29±21.27; 21.91±10.97), and their cognitive function had not worsened significantly. The patient education measures improved the patients' autonomy as perceived by the patients, the caregivers, and the healthcare providers. Satisfaction with the healthcare received was high. Conclusions: As a novelty to the already described benefits in orthogeriatric care models, this study would contribute by proving an increase of the number of patients discharged home in a safe condition

Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary educational intervention in patients with hip fracture: SWEET HOME study. / Efectividad de una intervención educativa multidisciplinar en pacientes con fractura de fémur: estudio SWEET HOME.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hip fracture is a common injury among elderly patients. The main goal of our study was to assess the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary educational intervention aimed at hip fracture patients to promote home discharges and reduce in-hospital complications. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A quasi-experimental study was performed by taking repeated measurements at hospital admission, at hospital discharge, and at both 30days and one year of discharge. Patients aged ≥65years with hip fracture who were admitted to the Orthogeriatric Service between February 2016 and January 2017 were included in the study. The educational intervention consisted in two coordinated actions: patient education administered during their hospitalization and multimodal support provided during their discharge home. RESULTS: A total of 67 patients were included in the study (77.6% of whom were women; 84.19±7,78 years old). Of these, 70.1% were discharged home, which doubles the figures recorded in the 2014-2015 period. The rate of readmission at 30days and one year of the discharge was 8.5%. At the one-year follow-up, the patient's dependence to perform basic activities of daily living was nearer to the pre-fracture level (Barthel: 86.67±19.31; 94.33±14.66), their mobility had improved in comparison with the time of discharge (Parker: 4.73±1.84; 6.73±2.76; Timed Up and Go Test: 38.29±21.27; 21.91±10.97), and their cognitive function had not worsened significantly. The patient education measures improved the patients' autonomy as perceived by the patients, the caregivers, and the healthcare providers. Satisfaction with the healthcare received was high. CONCLUSIONS: As a novelty to the already described benefits in orthogeriatric care models, this study would contribute by proving an increase of the number of patients discharged home in a safe condition.

Risk of ischaemic events at giant cell arteritis diagnosis according to PET/CT findings.

PURPOSE: To analyse the risk of ischaemic events in patients with newly diagnosed giant cell arteritis (GCA) according to PET/CT findings. METHODS: PET/CT was performed during the first 10 days of steroid therapy. Clinical manifestations at diagnosis, and physical examination and PET/CT findings were recorded and compared according to the presence or absence of ischaemic symptoms at disease onset. Analysed territories included the ascending aorta, aortic arch, descending aorta, abdominal aorta, carotid arteries, brachiocephalic trunk, vertebral arteries, subclavian arteries and axillary arteries. RESULTS: The study group comprised 30 patients with a median age of 80.8 years. Of these patients, 21 (70%) reported ischaemic symptoms at diagnosis, and 13 (43.3%) had permanent visual loss. Of the 30 patients, 77.8% showed large vessel vasculitis (including aortic and vertebral artery involvement) on PET/CT, and 60% had isolated involvement of the vertebral territory. Vertebral arteries were more frequently involved in patients with ischaemic symptoms (OR 5.0, 95% CI 0.99-24.86, p = 0.051). The presence of vertebral artery involvement in the absence of aortic involvement was associated with the presence of ischaemic manifestations (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.001). The presence of aortitis was found to protect against the development of permanent visual loss (OR 19.0, 95% CI 2.79-127.97, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest an association between the vascular pattern on PET/CT at the time of GCA diagnosis and the risk of ischaemic events.

Utility of the 18F-Florbetapir positron emission tomography in systemic amyloidosis.

Amyloidosis comprises a group of heterogeneous conditions. To ascertain the burden of disease is important because it can determine the treatment as well as the evolution of the disease. Recent reports have shown good results in diagnosing cardiac amyloidosis using 18F-florbetapir. We hypothesize that combining whole body PET/CT with 18F-Florbetapir can be useful to characterize the burden of the disease. We included 25 patients, 13 of them with different types of amyloidosis, and 12 with Alzheimer's disease as controls. Target-to-background ratio was computed for multiple organ using maximum standardized uptake values. Organ involvement was described (standardized techniques versus PET) according to different kinds of amyloidosis showing promising results in AA and AL types. Heart involvement showed poorer results when compared to tongue, lung or thyroid gland. Multiple organ involvement in patients previously labelled as having negative organ affectation could be identified. This is the first study to evaluate the utility of 18F-florbetapir in the assessment of the global extension of disease. Our results show that this technique is useful for its diagnosis.

Hipo como forma de presentación de una disección de aorta / Hiccups as an onset form of aortic dissection

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Clinical laboratory standard capillary protein electrophoresis alerted of a low C3 state and lead to the identification of a Factor I deficiency due to a novel homozygous mutation.

Complement factor I (CFI) deficiency is typically associated to recurrent infections with encapsulated microorganisms and, less commonly, to autoimmunity. We report a 53-years old male who, in a routine control for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, presented a flat beta-2 fraction at the capillary protein electropherogram. Patient's clinical records included multiple oropharyngeal infections since infancy and an episode of invasive meningococcal infection. Complement studies revealed reduced C3, low classical pathway activation and undetectable Factor I. CFI gene sequencing showed a novel inherited homozygous deletion of 5 nucleotides in exon 12, causing a frameshift leading to a truncated protein. This study points out that capillary protein electrophoresis can alert of possible states of low C3, which, once confirmed and common causes ruled out, can lead to CFI and other complement deficiency diagnosis. This is important since they constitute a still underestimated risk of invasive meningococcemia that can be greatly reduced by vaccination.

Síndrome renopulmonar, importancia del diagnóstico precoz / Renopulmonary syndrome, importance of an early diagnosis

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