University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology; Meyers Primary Care Institute

Publication Date

2014-12-01

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Musculoskeletal Diseases | Rheumatology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In clinical trials of pegloticase, a PEGylated uricase developed for treatment of gout refractory to conventional therapy, infusion-related reactions (IRs) were the second most frequent adverse event reported.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to provide a detailed account of IRs with pegloticase therapy.

METHODS: Data from 2 replicate, 6-month randomized trials and an open-label extension study were pooled. Infusions of pegloticase (8 mg) were administered biweekly or monthly; all patients received prophylaxis (antihistamine, acetaminophen, and corticosteroid) and were tested for urate levels prior to each infusion. An IR was defined by protocol as any otherwise unexplained adverse event or cluster of temporally related events occurring during or within 2 hours of infusion.

RESULTS: Infusion-related reactions occurred in 94 (45%) of 208 patients receiving pegloticase; 10 patients reported IRs at first infusion and 84 during subsequent infusions. Chest discomfort (15%), flushing (12%), and dyspnea (11%) were the most common symptoms. Most IRs were rated mild or moderate; 7% were rated severe. All IRs resolved with slowing, interrupting, or stopping the infusion. No patient required blood pressure or ventilatory support. Infusion-related reactions were associated with loss of pegloticase urate-lowering efficacy: 91% of all IRs occurred in patients with preinfusion serum uric acid concentrations (sUA) greater than 6 mg/dL. For patients sustaining preinfusion sUA of less than 6 mg/dL, IRs occurred in fewer than 1 per 100 infusions.

CONCLUSIONS: Phase 3 trial data combined with post hoc analyses demonstrated that knowledge of sUA preceding each pegloticase infusion and cessation of therapy when urate-lowering efficacy is lost provide a means to optimize the safety of pegloticase in clinical practice.

DOI of Published Version

10.1097/RHU.0000000000000200

Source

J Clin Rheumatol. 2014 Dec;20(8):427-32. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000000200. Link to article on publisher's site

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of clinical rheumatology : practical reports on rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases

PubMed ID

25417679

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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