Factors associated with change in health-related quality of life in people with gout: a 3-year prospective cohort study in primary care

Quality of life improvements and clinical assessments in kidney transplant recipients undergoing pegloticase treatment for uncontrolled gout: findings of the phase 4 PROTECT clinical trial

Introduction

Gout is 12-times more prevalent in kidney transplant (KT) recipients than in non-transplanted population. We report quality-of-life (QOL) and clinical assessment findings from the PROTECT trial examining pegloticase efficacy and safety in KT recipients with uncontrolled gout.

Methods

Patients with serum urate (SU) ≥7 mg/dL, oral urate-lowering therapy refractory/intolerant, and with one of the following were enrolled: ≥2 flares/year, unresolving tophi, or chronic gouty arthritis. Patients were ≥1 year post-transplant, with a graft eGFR ≥15 ml/min/1.73m2 and received stable immunosuppression. Pegloticase was administered for 24 weeks. QOL endpoints included the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ; Disability Index [DI], Health, Pain) and Physician Global Assessment (PhGA) of Gout. Key clinical assessments included proportion of patients with resolution of ≥1 tophus and change from baseline in blood pressure (BP) at Week 24.

Results

Twenty KT recipients (85.0% male, age: 53.9±10.9 years, BMI: 30.6±7.2 kg/m2, eGFR: 45.8±11.9 ml/min/1.73 m2, time since kidney transplant: 14.6±6.9 years) were included. The primary endpoint was achieved with 89% of patients reaching and maintaining a SU of <6 mg/dL during Month 6. Meaningful improvements occurred over 24 weeks of treatment in all QOL measures (mean [95% CI] change from baseline: HAQ-DI: -0.3 [-0.6, 0.1], HAQ-Pain: -35.5 [-54.5, -16.5], HAQ-Health: -22.4 [-39.5, -5.2], PhGA: -2.4 [-3.7, -1.1]) and clinical assessments (≥1 tophus resolved: 3 of 7 with tophi at baseline [42.9%]; change from baseline in mean arterial BP: -6.8 [-12.5, -1.0] mmHg).

Conclusions

Given the high prevalence of uncontrolled gout in KT recipients, proper SU management is of particular importance. Additionally, intensive urate-lowering with pegloticase may have clinical and QOL benefits.

Improving Gout Care in a Canadian Academic Medical Center Through a Multidisciplinary, Nurse-Led Protocol

OBJECTIVE

Following Health Canada's knowledge translation framework, we report the results of a clinical audit from 2012 to 2015 followed by a multidisciplinary, nurse-led gout care protocol with a treat-to-target (T2T) strategy implemented in April 2018.

METHODS

A clinical audit with chart reviewing was completed for adults with gout and urate-lowering therapy (ULT) indication at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke. A nurse-led treatment algorithm using allopurinol was then developed. Titration of ULT by a nurse every 4 weeks was done until serum uric acid (SUA) target. In the postprotocol implementation, adults with gout and ULT indication were retrospectively recruited through a billing agency until December 2020. The main outcome was SUA target achievement at 6 months.

RESULTS

Of 50 patients identified in the audit, 31% reached SUA target at 6 months and 16% were lost to follow-up. A 74-patient postprotocol implementation cohort was recruited, with 43 in the protocol group and 31 under usual care. Most prevalent ULT indication was ≥ 2 gout attacks per year (n = 52) at 70%. Target SUA was reached in 65% (n = 28) in the protocol group at 6 months compared to 19% (n = 6) in the usual care group (P < 0.001). Failing to titrate medication in the usual care group was the leading cause for nonachievement of SUA target at 6 months. Five percent of patients were lost to follow-up, all in the usual care group.

CONCLUSION

A multidisciplinary, nurse-led protocol with a T2T strategy implemented after a clinical audit significantly improved gout care. Such protocol could be replicated elsewhere in Canada.

Characteristics and Management of Uncontrolled Gout Prior to Pegloticase Therapy: A 2-year Claims Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Gout is a progressive form of arthritis that causes significant pain and disability. Patients with treatment-refractory (or uncontrolled) gout experience a higher prevalence and severity of comorbidities than those whose gout is controlled. Pegloticase is a recombinant PEGylated uricase indicated for the treatment of gout in patients refractory to conventional therapy. We evaluated the treatment journey of patients with chronic uncontrolled gout before initiation of pegloticase therapy.

METHODS

Using IQVIA's PharMetrics® Plus database, we conducted a retrospective observational analysis of adults with ≥ 1 pegloticase claim between April 1, 2011, and August 31, 2020. Demographics were assessed at baseline. Clinical outcomes, health care resource utilization (HCRU), and associated costs were compared over two 12-month periods (months 13-24 and 1-12) prior to the first pegloticase claim (index date).

RESULTS

The study included 408 patients. Prevalence of all gout-associated conditions increased between months 1-12 and 13-24 (P < 0.05 for all). The percentage of patients with tophi increased from 15.4% to 61.5%, the percentage with ≥ 1 flare increased from 49% to 84%, and mean number of flares per patient increased from 1.0 to 2.1 (P < 0.0001 for all). The frequency of all categories of HCRU except emergency department visits also increased (P < 0.0001 for all), as did gout-related healthcare utilization (P£0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with uncontrolled gout experienced an increase in the clinical burden of disease and HCRU in the 2 years before the initiation of pegloticase. Earlier patient identification and initiation of potentially effective therapy may help alleviate these burdens.

Relationship Between Gout Flare States and Patient-Reported Outcomes After Allopurinol Initiation

OBJECTIVE

Gout flares are the most important clinical feature of the disease. A hypothetical maximum flare occurrence in the preceding six months has been suggested to be no flares for a patient-acceptable symptom state (PASS) and only one flare for low disease activity (LDA). The aim of this analysis was to determine the relationship between gout flare states (PASS, LDA, and not in LDA or PASS [non-LDA/PASS]) and patient-reported outcomes.

METHODS

Post hoc analyses of variance were undertaken using data from a 12-month randomized controlled trial involving 172 people with gout, which compared low-dose colchicine to placebo for the first 6 months while starting allopurinol with a further 6-month follow-up. Self-reported gout flares were collected monthly. Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and EuroQol 5-domain (EQ-5D-3L) were completed at 0, 3, 6 ,9, and 12 months, and the gout-specific brief illness perception questionnaire (BIPQ) was collected at months 0, 6, and 12.

RESULTS

In the final six months of the study, 68 participants (38%) were classified as being in PASS, 34 (19%) as in LDA, and 77 (43%) as non-LDA/PASS. There was no association between gout flare states and EQ-5D-3L or HAQ. There was a statistically significant association between three of eight BIPQ items with increasing consequences, identity, and concern scores across the three states of PASS, LDA, and non-LDA/PASS.

CONCLUSION

The majority of people were able to achieve gout flare PASS or LDA in the second six months after commencing allopurinol. As flare burden increases, so does the impact of gout on the patient. These findings highlight the importance of flare prevention in the management of gout.

Quality of life and clinical gout assessments during pegloticase with and without methotrexate co-therapy: MIRROR randomized controlled trial exploratory findings

Objectives

Pegloticase lowers serum urate (SU) but is limited by anti-drug antibodies. Methotrexate (MTX) co-administration increases urate-lowering response rate and decreases infusion reaction risk. This is of importance in uncontrolled gout patients who have few treatment options and highly impacted quality of life (QOL). Here, we report exploratory QOL/clinical endpoints of MIRROR RCT (NCT03994731).

Methods

Patients with uncontrolled gout (sUA ≥ 7 mg/dl, urate-lowering tehraoy (ULT) failure/intolerance, and ≥1 gout sign/symptom [≥1 tophus, ≥2 flares in past year, chronic gouty arthritis]) were administered pegloticase (biweekly 8 mg infusion; 52 weeks) with oral MTX (15 mg/week) or placebo co-therapy. Key exploratory outcomes included change from baseline (CFB) in Physician Global Assessment of Gout [PhGA, score: 0-10], CFB in tender/swollen joint counts [TJC/SJC, score: 0-68/0-66], and gout chronic response rate (GCR50, GCR70; 50%/70% reduction in ≥3 of TJC, SJC, HAQ-Health, HAQ-Pain). Least-square mean (±S.E.) CFB to week 52 was estimated using a mixed model for repeated measures.

Results

In total, 100 patients were randomized to pegloticase + MTX; 52 to pegloticase + PBO. At baseline, patients had poor overall health (HAQ-Health [MTX, PBO]: 44.9 ± 28.6, 39.1 ± 27.4; PhGA: 5.5 ± 2.1, 5.4 ± 2.2) and many affected joints (TJC: 5.4 ± 7.8, 6.7 ± 8.4; SJC: 8.3 ± 12.2, 11.0 ± 15.9). QOL progressively improved during treatment, with similar CFB at week 52 in MTX vs. PBO groups in PhGA (-4.2 ± 0.2 vs. -3.8 ± 0.3) and TJC/SJC (-6.1 ± 0.5 vs. -7.0 ± 0.8/-5.1 ± 0.4 vs. -6.0 ± 0.6). However, at week 52, more MTX patients met GCR50 (58.0% vs. 38.5%) and GCR70 (52.0% vs. 30.8%) criteria.

Conclusion

In the MIRROR RCT, pegloticase treatment with or without MTX co-therapy led to meaningful clinical/QOL improvements in uncontrolled gout patients. However, patients receiving MTX co-therapy had greater benefits because of a higher sustained SU-lowering rate (60.0% vs. 30.8% in the PBO group at week 52).

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03994731.

Health-related quality of life in gout patients in Madinah Region, Saudi Arabia

Background

Gout can significantly impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL) due to excruciating pain, chronic arthropathy, and associated comorbidities. The objective of our study was to evaluate HRQoL among patients diagnosed with gout in the Madinah region of Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Methods

The research took place in the Madinah Region, where eligible adult participants aged 18 years or older, having a confirmed history, or present diagnosis of gout were enrolled using medical records from 2016 to 2022. To gather data, patients were invited to participate in telephone-based interviews and complete the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire.

Results

The majority of participants were male (81.5%), and 31-39 years form the largest group (37.0%). Most participants were married (86.4%), and the majority possess university and postgraduate education (70.4%). The respondents' self-reported assessments were as follows: physical function (69.9), limitation due to physical health (74.1), emotional problem (75.8), energy or fatigue (61.6), emotional well-being (68.9), social functioning (76.6), pain (78.9), and general health (63.8).

Conclusions

HRQoL among patients with gout was not significantly affected.

Safety of colchicine and NSAID prophylaxis when initiating urate-lowering therapy for gout: propensity score-matched cohort studies in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink

OBJECTIVES

To determine the risk of adverse events associated with colchicine or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) prophylaxis when initiating allopurinol for gout.

METHODS

We conducted two matched retrospective cohort studies in linked UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics datasets. Adults initiating allopurinol for gout with (1) colchicine or (2) NSAID prophylaxis were compared with those initiating without prophylaxis, individually matched by age, sex and propensity to receive the relevant prophylaxis. Weighted Cox proportional hazards models investigated associations between colchicine/NSAID and specified adverse events.

RESULTS

13 945 individuals prescribed colchicine were matched to 13 945 with no prophylaxis and 25 980 prescribed NSAID to 25 980 with no prophylaxis. Adverse event incidence rates were <200/10 000 patient-years except diarrhoea (784.4; 95% CI 694.0 to 886.5) and nausea (208.1; 95% CI 165.4 to 261.7) for colchicine and angina for NSAID (466.6; 95% CI 417.2 to 521.8). Diarrhoea (HR 2.22; 95% CI 1.83 to 2.69), myocardial infarction (MI) (1.55; 95% CI 1.10, 2.17), neuropathy (4.75; 95% CI 1.20 to 18.76), myalgia (2.64; 95% CI 1.45 to 4.81), bone marrow suppression (3.29; 95% CI 1.43 to 7.58) and any adverse event (1.91, 95% CI 1.65 to 2.20) were more common with colchicine than no prophylaxis, but not nausea/vomiting (1.34; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.85). Angina (1.60; 95% CI 1.37 to 1.86), acute kidney injury (1.56; 95% CI 1.20 to 2.03), MI (1.89; 95% CI 1.44 to 2.48), peptic ulcer disease (1.67; 95% CI 1.14 to 2.44) and any adverse event (1.63; 95% CI 1.44 to 1.85) were more common with NSAID than without.

CONCLUSIONS

Adverse events were more common when allopurinol was initiated with prophylaxis, particularly diarrhoea with colchicine. Other events were uncommon, providing reassurance for patients and clinicians to enable shared decision-making.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multicenter Efficacy and Safety Study of Methotrexate to Increase Response Rates in Patients With Uncontrolled Gout Receiving Pegloticase: 12-Month Findings

OBJECTIVE

To assess 12-month safety and efficacy of pegloticase + methotrexate (MTX) versus pegloticase + placebo (PBO) cotherapy in a PBO-controlled, double-blind trial (A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, efficacy and safety study of methotrexate to increase response rates in patients with uncontrolled gout receiving pegloticase [MIRROR RCT]).

METHODS

Patients with uncontrolled gout (serum urate level [SU] ≥7 mg/dl, oral urate-lowering therapy failure or intolerance, and presence of one or more gout symptoms [one or more tophi, two or more flares in 12 months, gouty arthropathy]) were randomized 2:1 to receive pegloticase (8-mg infusion every 2 weeks) with blinded MTX (oral 15 mg/week) or PBO for 52 weeks. Efficacy end points included proportion of responders (SU level <6 mg/dl for ≥80% of examined month) in the intent-to-treat population (ITT) (all randomized patients) during month 6 (primary end point), month 9, and month 12; proportion with resolution of one or more tophi (ITT); mean SU reduction (ITT); and time to SU-monitoring pegloticase discontinuation. Safety was evaluated via adverse event reporting and laboratory values.

RESULTS

Month 12 response rate was significantly higher in patients cotreated with MTX (60.0% [60 of 100] vs. 30.8% [16 of 52]; difference: 29.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 13.2%-44.9%], P = 0.0003), with fewer SU discontinuations (22.9% [22 of 96] vs. 63.3% [31 of 49]). Complete resolution of one or more tophi occurred in 53.8% (28 of 52) versus 31.0% (9 of 29) of MTX versus PBO patients at week 52 (difference: 22.8% [95% CI: 1.2%-44.4%], P = 0.048), more than at week 24 (34.6% [18 of 52] vs. 13.8% [4 of 29]). Consistent with observations through month 6, pharmacokinetic and immunogenicity findings showed increased exposure and lower immunogenicity of pegloticase when administered with MTX, with an otherwise similar safety profile. No infusion reactions occurred after 24 weeks.

CONCLUSION

Twelve-month MIRROR RCT data further support MTX cotherapy with pegloticase. Tophi resolution continued to increase through week 52, suggesting continued therapeutic benefit beyond month 6 for a favorable treatment effect.