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ObjectivesGlucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) are indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and more recently for weight loss. The aim of this study was to assess the risks associated with GLP1-RA exposure during early pregnancy.DesignThis multicentre, observational prospective cohort study compared pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to GLP1-RA in early pregnancy either for diabetes or obesity treatment with those in two reference groups: (1) women with diabetes exposed to at least one non-GLP1-RA antidiabetic drug during the first trimester and (2) a reference group of overweight/obese women without diabetes, between 2009 and 2022.SettingData were collected from the databases of six Teratology Information Services.ParticipantsThis study included 168 pregnancies of women exposed to GLP1-RA during the first trimester, alongside a reference group of 156 pregnancies of women with diabetes and 163 pregnancies of overweight/obese women.ResultsExposure to GLP1-RA in the first trimester was not associated with a risk of major birth defects when compared with diabetes (2.6% vs 2.3%; adjusted OR, 0.98 (95% CI, 0.16 to 5.82)) or to overweight/obese (2.6% vs 3.9%; adjusted OR 0.54 (0.11 to 2.75)). For the GLP1-RA group, cumulative incidence for live births, pregnancy losses and pregnancy terminations was 59%, 23% and 18%, respectively. In the diabetes reference group, corresponding estimates were 69%, 26% and 6%, while in the overweight/obese reference group, they were 63%, 29% and 8%, respectively. Cox proportional cause-specific hazard models indicated no increased risk of pregnancy losses in the GLP1-RA versus the diabetes and the overweight/obese reference groups, in both crude and adjusted analyses.ConclusionsThis study offers reassurance in cases of inadvertent exposure to GLP1-RA during the first trimester of pregnancy. Due to the limited sample size, larger studies are required to validate these findings.

To assess the associations of exposure and modifications in exposure (i.e., discontinuation on admission, initiation during hospitalization) to eight common cardiovascular therapies with the risk of in-hospital death among inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this observational study including 838 hospitalized unvaccinated adult patients with confirmed COVID-19, the use of cardiovascular therapies was assessed using logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. No cardiovascular therapy used before hospitalization was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital death. During hospitalization, the use of diuretics (aOR 2.59 [1.68-3.98]) was associated with an increase, and the use of agents acting on the renin-angiotensin system (aOR 0.39 [0.23-0.64]) and lipid-lowering agents (aOR 0.41 [0.24-0.68]) was associated with a reduction in the odds of in-hospital death. Exposure modifications associated with decreased survival were the discontinuation of an agent acting on the renin-angiotensin system (aOR 4.42 [2.08-9.37]), a β-blocker (aOR 5.44 [1.16-25.46]), a lipid-modifying agent (aOR 3.26 [1.42-7.50]) or an anticoagulant (aOR 5.85 [1.25-27.27]), as well as the initiation of a diuretic (aOR 5.19 [2.98-9.03]) or an antiarrhythmic (aOR 6.62 [2.07-21.15]). Exposure modification associated with improved survival was the initiation of an agent acting on the renin-angiotensin system (aOR 0.17 [0.03-0.82]). In hospitalized and unvaccinated patients with COVID-19, there was no detrimental association of the prehospital use of any regular cardiovascular medication with in-hospital death, and these therapies should be continued as recommended.

The identification of pharmacogenetic factors that increase the susceptibility to clozapine-induced agranulocytosis or granulocytopenia (CIAG) has received increasing interest. The SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 variant (rs149104283) and single amino acid changes in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) HLA-DQB1 (126Q) and HLA-B (158T) were associated with an increased risk of CIAG. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of adding the SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 to HLA variants as a new pharmacogenomic (PGx) approach and explored the evolution of a cohort of schizophrenic patients taking long-term clozapine as a third-line antipsychotic medication. The decision model included probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses to assess the expected costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The current monitoring scheme was compared with the PGx-guided strategy, where all patients underwent pre-emptively a genetic test before taking clozapine, over 10 years. By adding the SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 variant into HLA variants, CIAG sensitivity increased from 36.0% to 43.0%, the specificity decreased from 89.0% to 86.9%, and the probability of cost-effectiveness improved from 74.1% to 87.8%. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £16,215 per QALY and remained below the conventional decision threshold (£30,000 or US$50,000 per QALY). Therefore, the SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 variant, as an additional risk allele to HLA variants, increases preemptive test sensitivity and improves the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PGx-guided clozapine administration.

Sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of mortality in psychiatric patients. Long QT (LQT) is common in this population and predisposes to Torsades-de-Pointes (TdP) and subsequent mortality. To estimate the cost-effectiveness of electrocardiographic screening to detect LQT in psychiatric inpatients. We built a decision analytic model based on a decision tree to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and utility of LQT screening from a health care perspective. LQT proportion parameters were derived from an in-hospital cross-sectional study. We performed experts' elicitation to estimate the risk of TdP, given extent of QT prolongation. A TdP reduction of 65% after LQT detection was based on positive drug dechallenge rate and through adequate treatment and electrolyte adjustments. The base-case model uncertainty was assessed with one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Finally, the TdP related mortality and TdP avoidance parameters were varied in a two-way sensitivity analysis to assess their effect on the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). Costs, Quality Ajusted Life Year (QALY), ICER, and probability of cost effectiveness thresholds ($ 10,000, $25,000, and $50,000 per QALY). In the base-case scenario, the numbers of patients needed to screen were 1128 and 2817 to avoid one TdP and one death, respectively. The ICER of systematic ECG screening was $8644 (95%CI, 3144-82 498) per QALY. The probability of cost-effectiveness was 96% at a willingness-to-pay of $50,000 for one QALY. In sensitivity analyses, results were sensitive to the case-fatality of TdP episodes and to the TdP reduction following the diagnosis of LQT. In psychiatric hospitals, performing systematic ECG screening at admission help reduce the number of sudden cardiac deaths in a cost-effective fashion.

The pharmacokinetics of long-acting rilpivirine has mostly been studied in clinical trials, which do not fully address the uncertainties that arise in routine clinical situations. Our population analysis aims to establish percentile curves for rilpivirine concentrations in people with HIV (PWH) followed-up in a routine clinical setting, while identifying patient-related factors that may influence rilpivirine exposure. A total of 238 PWH enrolled in our nationwide multicenter observational study contributed to 1038 concentrations (186 and 852 concentrations after oral and intramuscular injection, respectively). Rilpivirine pharmacokinetics were best described by a two-compartment model with an oral to intramuscular relative bioavailability factor. A simple zero-order absorption process was retained for oral administration while a parallel first-order absorption was used for intramuscular administration, with 27.6% of the dose released via a fast absorption pathway and the remaining fraction via a slow absorption pathway. Our model estimated that long-acting rilpivirine reaches steady-state after 2.5 years and has an elimination half-life of 18 weeks, consistent with published estimates. In females, a 45.6% reduction in the proportion of the dose absorbed via the rapid absorption pathway was observed. However, this resulted in no more than 15% difference in trough concentrations (C ) compared to males, which was not considered to be clinically relevant. Overall, our model-based simulations showed that only approximately 50% of long-acting rilpivirine C would be above the 50 ng/mL threshold associated with optimal therapeutic response, while approximately 85% of C would be above the first quartile of concentrations observed in Phase III trials (32 ng/mL).

Abstract The interpretation of long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine concentrations is complicated by the lack of consensus on the threshold to consider. Building on real-world therapeutic drug monitoring data and documented virologic failures, this article provides a reappraisal of the existing thresholds and guidance for the interpretation of cabotegravir and rilpivirine concentrations. There is no established threshold for the interpretation of long-acting cabotegravir/rilpivirine concentrations. Building on real-world TDM data and documented virologic failures, this article provides a reappraisal of the existing thresholds, and guidance for the interpretation of cabotegravir and rilpivirine concentrations.

Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKIs) are immunomodulatory drugs used for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Their potential impact on pregnancy and fetal development remains a concern due to placental transfer and potential disruption of cytokine and growth factor signaling, with limited human data. This study analyzed VigiBase, the World Health Organization global pharmacovigilance database of individual case safety reports (ICSRs), to assess signals of disproportionate reporting (SDRs) for pregnancy‐related adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported with systemic JAKIs, including abrocitinib, baricitinib, deucravacitinib, fedratinib, filgotinib, itacitinib, momelotinib, pacritinib, peficitinib, ritlecitinib, ruxolitinib, tofacitinib, and upadacitinib. As of May 26, 2024, 163 ICSRs met inclusion criteria, mainly from North America (41.7%) and Europe (39.3%). The most frequently reported JAKIs were tofacitinib (44.8%) and upadacitinib (34.4%), primarily indicated for rheumatoid arthritis (29.4%). Among 213 pregnancy‐related ADRs, spontaneous abortion was the most frequently reported event (47.9%) without representing an SDR compared with other drugs in the database (reporting odds ratio [ROR] 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.30–0.46). Congenital anomalies were reported in 16.0% of ICSRs (43 events), but no specific organ‐related patterns were identified. Prematurity occurred in 9.2% of ICSRs, without SDR compared to the full database (ROR 0.07, 95% CI 0.04–0.11). Current pharmacovigilance data from VigiBase do not indicate SDRs for spontaneous abortion or prematurity following JAKI exposure during pregnancy. Findings should be interpreted cautiously given the limitations of spontaneous reporting systems and the exploratory nature of the analysis. Further studies are needed to better characterize the JAKI safety in pregnancy.

Poncet A, Gencer B, Blondon M, Gex-Fabry M, Combescure C, Shah D, et al. (2015) Electrocardiographic Screening for Prolonged QT Interval to Reduce Sudden Cardiac Death in Psychiatric Patients: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Abstract Background The antipsychotic aripiprazole is mainly metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of CYP2D6 phenotypes on aripiprazole plasma levels and treatment duration. Design 466 patients treated with aripiprazole for up to 12 months and with at least one aripiprazole plasma level in steady-state condition were selected. CYP2D6 genotypes and phenoconversion to poor metabolizer status due to strong CYP2D6 inhibition were considered. Aripiprazole plasma level-to-dose ratios and treatment duration up to discontinuation, defined as switching to another psychotropic drug and/or stopping the follow-up, were analyzed using robust linear models and Cox regression, respectively. Akaike variable selection was applied. Results CYP2D6 poor metabolizers (genetically determined n = 19 and phenoconverted, n = 52) showed higher aripiprazole concentration-to-dose (P < .001) and aripiprazole plus dehydroaripiprazole concentration-to-dose (P < .001) ratios when compared to normal metabolizers (n = 255). CYP2D6 extreme metabolizers (ie, poor and ultrarapid metabolizers) had higher risk of treatment discontinuation versus intermediate and normal metabolizers after 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment (HR: 2.08, 1.75, 1.59, respectively; P = .013, P = .019, and P = .047, respectively). For a pharmacogenetic-guided treatment, the number of patients needed to genotype to prevent 1 patient from aripiprazole discontinuation was 15. Conclusion CYP2D6 poor metabolism was associated with increased aripiprazole and aripiprazole plus dehydroaripiprazole concentrations-to-dose. CYP2D6 extreme phenotypes were associated with increased risk of treatment discontinuation over 1 year of treatment. This finding supports the applicability of pre-emptive CYP2D6 genotyping, which is expected to decrease aripiprazole adverse events and inefficacy that would probably lead to treatment discontinuation.