RESUMO
Riociguat is the first approved medication from the novel class of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulators and the only agent approved for treating both chronic thromboembolic hypertension (CTEPH) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The novel mechanism of riociguat lies in its ability to restore the homeostatic and therapeutic effects of nitric oxide that are diminished as a result of phenotypic alterations associated with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Improvements in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) in patients with PAH during the phase 3 PATENT-1 trial were comparable to other oral agents approved for the treatment of PAH. Improvements in 6MWD in patients with CTEPH during the phase 3 CHEST-1 trial were greater than those previously observed with other oral PAH-directed therapies. Hypotension is the dose-limiting adverse effect of riociguat and dose titration is performed gradually according to systolic blood pressure. Riociguat was tolerated at maximal doses by most patients during PATENT-1 and CHEST-1 and was well tolerated during long-term extension studies. Key factors to consider with riociguat are a patient's systolic blood pressure, drug interactions mediated by CYP1A1, CYP3A4, and P-glycoprotein, cost, and teratogenicity requiring enrollment in a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program. Recently published guidelines recommend riociguat monotherapy as an option for treatment-naïve patients with World Health Organization Functional Class (WHO FC) II or III symptoms or as add-on therapy for patients with persistent WHO FC III or IV symptoms being treated with an ERA or inhaled prostanoid. Postmarketing experience and ongoing clinical investigations will further define the safety and role of riociguat in patients with PAH and other types of PH.
Assuntos
Guanilato Ciclase/metabolismo , Hipertensão Pulmonar/tratamento farmacológico , Pirazóis/uso terapêutico , Pirimidinas/uso terapêutico , Receptores Citoplasmáticos e Nucleares/metabolismo , Ensaios Clínicos Fase III como Assunto , Humanos , Hipertensão Pulmonar/etiologia , Pirazóis/farmacocinética , Pirazóis/farmacologia , Pirimidinas/farmacocinética , Pirimidinas/farmacologia , Guanilil Ciclase SolúvelRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Ambulatory oxygen is frequently prescribed for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have oxygen desaturation =88% during exercise. The 6-min walk test (6MWT) with continuous pulse oximetry monitoring is a common method to document this oxygen desaturation, but the reproducibility of this test in determining the need for ambulatory oxygen in patients with COPD is not well documented. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to establish the reproducibility of the 6MWT in determining the need for ambulatory oxygen prescription in stable COPD patients using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) criteria for ambulatory oxygen prescription. METHODS: The study was designed as a prospective observational study in an academic health center and associated pulmonary rehabilitation program. Eighty-eight COPD patients referred to pulmonary rehabilitation underwent continuous pulse oximetry while performing standard 6MWT on 3 separate days. RESULTS: Fifty-one (58%) of these patients desaturated by continuous pulse oximetry to an SpO(2) < or = 88% on a least one of the 6MWTs. Only 26 patients (30%) demonstrated consistency in meeting the criteria for ambulatory oxygen set forth by the CMS on all three 6MWT with a kappa statistic of 0.62. The percent agreement between 6MWTs for ambulatory oxygen prescription was 72% and the paired observation was 51%. CONCLUSIONS: The 6MWT distance is simple and widely used as a consistent measure of functional capacity in patients with COPD; however, the 6MWT oxygen saturation has only modest reproducibility in determining the need for ambulatory oxygen in stable COPD patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.
Assuntos
Teste de Esforço , Oxigênio/administração & dosagem , Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica/diagnóstico , Caminhada , Idoso , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Oximetria , Prescrições , Estudos Prospectivos , Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica/fisiopatologia , Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica/terapia , Reprodutibilidade dos TestesRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Telithromycin is a ketolide antibiotic approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for acute bacterial infections causing sinusitis, bronchitis, and community-acquired pneumonia. OBJECTIVE: To describe 3 cases of severe hepatotoxicity in patients receiving telithromycin. DESIGN: Case reports. SETTING: A tertiary care medical center. PATIENTS: 3 previously healthy patients who had recently taken telithromycin and took no other prescription medications. MEASUREMENTS: Serologic, histologic, and liver function tests. RESULTS: Within a few days of receiving telithromycin, the patients presented with acute hepatitis. All had jaundice and markedly abnormal results on liver function tests. Results of viral serologic tests were negative. One patient spontaneously recovered, 1 required orthotopic liver transplantation, and 1 died. Histologic examination in the latter 2 patients showed massive hepatic necrosis. LIMITATIONS: Two patients had some history of alcohol use. The frequency of severe telithromycin-related hepatotoxicity cannot be established with case reports. CONCLUSIONS: Telithromycin can cause severe hepatotoxicity. Caution is advised in prescribing this drug pending additional postmarketing surveillance data.