Impact of atypical long-acting injectable versus oral antipsychotics on rehospitalization rates and emergency room visits among relapsed schizophrenia patients: a retrospective database analysis

BACKGROUND: Among schizophrenia patients relapsed on an oral antipsychotic (AP), this study compared the impact of switching to atypical AP long-acting injectable therapy (LAT) versus continuing oral APs on hospitalization and emergency room (ER) visit recurrence. METHODS: Electronic records from the Premier Hospital Database (2006-2010) were analyzed. Adult patients receiving oral APs during a schizophrenia-related hospitalization were identified and, upon relapse (i.e., rehospitalization for schizophrenia), were stratified into (a) patients switching to atypical LAT and (b) patients continuing with oral APs. Atypical LAT relapse patients were matched 1:3 with oral AP relapse patients, using a propensity score model. Andersen-Gill Cox proportional hazards models assessed the impact of atypical LAT versus oral AP on time to multiple recurrences of all-cause hospitalizations and ER visits. No adjustment was made for multiplicity. RESULTS: Atypical LAT (N = 1032) and oral AP (N = 2796) patients were matched and well-balanced with respect to demographic (mean age: 42.1 vs 42.4 years, p = .5622; gender: 43.6% vs 44.6% female, p = .5345), clinical, and hospital characteristics. Over a mean 30-month follow-up period, atypical LATs were associated with significantly lower mean number of rehospitalizations (1.25 vs 1.61, p < .0001) and ER visits (2.33 vs 2.67, p = .0158) compared with oral APs, as well as fewer days in hospital (mean days: 13.46 vs. 15.69, p = .0081). Rehospitalization (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.76–0.87, p < .0001) and ER visit (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.87–0.93, p < .0001) rates were significantly lower for patients receiving atypical LAT versus oral APs. CONCLUSIONS: This hospital database analysis found that in relapsed schizophrenia patients, atypical LATs were associated with lower rehospitalization and ER visit rates than oral APs

Real-world utilization and outcomes of systemic therapy among patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer in the United States

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate systemic therapy utilization patterns and outcomes by line of therapy among patients with advanced/recurrent endometrial cancer (EC) treated in the United States. METHODS: This retrospective observational study used the Optum Clinformatics Extended Data Mart Date of Death database (1 January 2004-31 December 2019) and included de-identified data from adult patients with advanced/recurrent EC who were treated with first-line (1L) platinum-based chemotherapy and initiated second-line (2L) anti-neoplastic therapy. The index date was the date of 1L therapy initiation. The number and sequence of treatments received and the proportion of patients who received each type of treatment for each line of therapy were evaluated. To account for new drug approvals, patients first treated in 2018 or 2019 were also assessed separately. RESULTS: Among the 1317 patients who met all eligibility criteria, 520 (39.5%) and 235 (17.8%) patients received 3 or 4+ lines of treatment, respectively, during a median total follow-up time of 25.2 months (range, 2.5-173.3 months) following the index date. Chemotherapy, including platinum- and non-platinum-based regimens, was the most common treatment across all lines of therapy: 2L, 80.0%; 3L, 66.2%; 4L+, 80.4%. Overall, 2.5%, 2.3%, and 8.9% of 2L, 3L, and 4L + patients, respectively, received anti-program death 1 (anti-PD-1) immunotherapies. In patients first treated in 2018 and 2019 ( CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with advanced/recurrent EC treated with 1L platinum-based therapy in clinical practice, chemotherapy was the most common treatment choice across all lines of therapy. Immunotherapy use was low overall but increased in patients who started treatment in 2018 or 2019. Overall, median TTNT decreased as lines of therapy increased

A Cross-Sectional Study of Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs for Antipsychotics Among Medicaid Beneficiaries with Schizophrenia

Abstract Background Patient affordability is an important nonclinical consideration for treatment access among patients with schizophrenia. Objective This study evaluated and measured out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for antipsychotics (APs) among Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia. Methods Adults with a schizophrenia diagnosis, ≥ 1 AP claim, and continuous Medicaid eligibility were identified in the MarketScan® Medicaid Database (1 January 2018–31 December 2018). OOP AP pharmacy costs ($US 2019) were normalized for a 30-day supply. Results were descriptively reported by route of administration [ROA; orals (OAPs), long-acting injectables (LAIs)], generic/branded status within ROAs, and dosing schedule within LAIs. The proportion of total (pharmacy and medical) OOP costs AP-attributable was described. Results In 2018, 48,656 Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia were identified (mean age 46.7 years, 41.1$59.97, $6.65 of which was AP attributable. Overall, 39.2$0 for any AP, OAP, and LAI, respectively. Mean OOP costs per patient per 30-day claim (PPPC) were $0.64 for OAPs and$0.86 for LAIs. By LAI dosing schedule, mean OOP costs PPPC were $0.95,$0.90, $0.57, and$0.39 for twice-monthly, monthly, once-every-2-months, and once-every-3-months LAIs, respectively. Across ROAs and generic/branded status, projected OOP AP costs per-patient-per-year for beneficiaries assumed fully adherent ranged from $4.52 to$13.70, representing < 25% of total OOP costs. Conclusion OOP AP costs for Medicaid beneficiaries represented a small fraction of total OOP costs. LAIs with longer dosing schedules had numerically lower mean OOP costs, which were lowest for once-every-3-months LAIs among all APs

Virucidal Efficacy of Glutaraldehyde against Enteroviruses Is Related to the Location of Lysine Residues in Exposed Structures of the VP1 Capsid Protein

Glutaraldehyde (GTA) is a potent virucidal disinfectant whose exact mode of action against enteroviruses is not understood. Earlier reports showed that GTA reacts preferentially with the VP1 capsid protein of echovirus 25 and poliovirus 1 and that GTA has affinity for exposed lysine residues on proteins. To investigate further the inactivation of enteroviruses by GTA, seven strains were selected on the basis of differences in their overall number and the positions of lysine residues in the amino acid sequences of the VP1 polypeptide. Inactivation kinetics experiments were performed with 0.10% GTA. The viruses grouped into three clusters and exhibited significantly different levels of sensitivity to GTA. The results were analyzed in the light of current knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of enteroviruses and the viral life cycle. The differences observed in sensitivity to GTA were related to the number of lysine residues and their locations in the VP1 protein. The overall findings suggest that the BC and DE loops, which cluster at the fivefold axis of symmetry and are the most exposed on the outer surface of the virions, are primary reactive sites for GTA

Weight Change and Predictors of Weight Change Among Patients Initiated on Darunavir/Cobicistat/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide or Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide: A Real-World Retrospective Study

**Background:** Recent evidence suggests that integrase strand transfer inhibitors are associated with greater weight gain than protease inhibitors in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). **Objectives:** To describe demographic and clinical characteristics of insured patients with HIV-1 in the United States initiating darunavir/&#8203;cobicistat/&#8203;emtricitabine/&#8203;tenofovir alafenamide (DRV/c/FTC/TAF) or bictegravir/FTC/TAF (BIC/FTC/TAF), assess the differences in weight and body mass index (BMI) change between cohorts up to one year after treatment initiation, and identify the predictors of weight gain associated with each treatment. **Methods:** The Symphony Health, IDV® database (July 17, 2017 – September 30, 2019) was used to identify treatment naïve or virologically suppressed stable switchers who initiated DRV/c/FTC/TAF or BIC/FTC/TAF (index date) on or after July 17, 2018, were ≥18 years of age on the index date, and had ≥12 months of continuous clinical activity pre-index (baseline period). To account for differences in baseline characteristics, inverse-probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used. Mean weight and BMI change from pre- to post-index measurements were compared between weighted cohorts at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-index using mean differences. Predictors of weight or BMI gain ≥5% were evaluated at last measurement, for each treatment cohort separately. **Results:** After IPTW, 452 and 497 patients were included in the DRV/c/FTC/TAF and BIC/FTC/TAF cohorts, respectively. Baseline characteristics were generally well-balanced (mean age=\~50 years, female: \~30%), except for the type of antiretroviral therapy from which patients switched. Patients initiated on BIC/FTC/TAF experienced greater weight and BMI increases between the pre-index period and each measurement of the post-index period than patients initiated on DRV/c/FTC/TAF, although results were only statistically significant at 9 months post-index (weight: mean difference=2.50 kg, *P*=0.005; BMI: mean difference=0.66 kg/m^2^, *P*=0.027). A common predictor of weight or BMI gain ≥5% among patients in both cohorts was female gender (DRV/c/FTC/TAF: odds ratio $$OR$$=5.92, *P*=0.014; BIC/FTC/TAF: OR=2.00, *P*\<0.001). **Conclusion:** Patients in the BIC/FTC/TAF cohort experienced greater weight and BMI increases than patients in the DRV/c/FTC/TAF cohort, with differences reaching statistical significance at 9 months post-index. Weight gain is an important factor to consider when selecting antiretroviral regimens, since it is associated with long-term health consequences. Future studies with larger sample size and longer follow-up time are warranted

Incidence of cardiometabolic outcomes among people living with HIV‐1 initiated on integrase strand transfer inhibitor versus non‐integrase strand transfer inhibitor antiretroviral therapies: a retrospective analysis of insurance claims in the United States

Abstract Introduction Integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)‐containing antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been associated with weight gain, though there is limited information on associations between ART‐related weight gain and cardiometabolic outcomes among people living with HIV‐1 (PLWH). We, therefore, evaluated risks of incident cardiometabolic outcomes following INSTI versus non‐INSTI‐based ART initiation in the United States. Methods We conducted a retrospective study using IBM MarketScan Research Databases (12 August 2012−31 January 2021). Treatment‐naïve PLWH initiating ART (index date) on/after 12 August 2013 (approval date of the first second‐generation INSTI, dolutegravir) were included and censored at regimen switch/discontinuation, end of insurance eligibility or end of data availability. We used inverse probability of treatment weights constructed with baseline (12 months pre‐index) characteristics to account for differences between INSTI‐ and non‐INSTI‐initiating cohorts. Doubly robust hazard ratios (HRs) obtained from weighted multivariable Cox regression were used to compare time to incident cardiometabolic outcomes (congestive heart failure [CHF], coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke/transient ischemic attack, hypertension, type II diabetes, lipid disorders, lipodystrophy and metabolic syndrome) by INSTI‐initiation status. Results Weighted INSTI (mean age = 39 years, 23% female, 70% commercially insured, 30% Medicaid insured) and non‐INSTI (mean age = 39 years, 24% female, 71% commercially insured, 29% Medicaid insured) cohorts included 7059 and 7017 PLWH, respectively. The most common INSTI‐containing regimens were elvitegravir‐based (43.4%), dolutegravir‐based (33.3%) and bictegravir‐based (18.4%); the most common non‐INSTI‐containing regimens were darunavir‐based (31.5%), rilpivirine‐based (30.4%) and efavirenz‐based (28.3%). Mean±standard deviation follow‐up periods were 1.5±1.5 and 1.1±1.2 years in INSTI‐ and non‐INSTI‐initiating cohorts, respectively. INSTI initiators were at a clinically and significantly increased risk of experiencing incident CHF (HR = 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08−4.05; p = 0.036), myocardial infarction (HR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.03−5.65; p = 0.036) and lipid disorders (HR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.04−1.58; p = 0.020); there was no evidence of an increased risk for other individual or composite outcomes. Conclusions Over a short average follow‐up period of <2 years, INSTI use among treatment‐naïve PLWH was associated with an increased risk of several cardiometabolic outcomes, such as CHF, myocardial infarction and lipid disorders, compared to non‐INSTI use. Further research accounting for additional potential confounders and with longer follow‐up is warranted to more accurately and precisely quantify the impact of INSTI‐containing ART on long‐term cardiometabolic outcomes