Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with non-infectious uveitis

Introduction: The aim of this paper is to point out the design, development and deployment of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance(AIDA) International Registry for paediatric and adult patients with non-infectious uveitis(NIU). Methods: This is a physician-driven, population- and electronic-based registry implemented for both retrospective and prospective collection of real-world demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data of patients with uveitis and other non-infectious inflammatory ocular diseases recruited through the AIDA Network. Data recruitment, based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, is thought to collect standardised information for real-life research and has been developed to change over time according to future scientific acquisitions and potentially communicate with other similar instruments. Security, data quality and data governance are cornerstones of this platform. Results: Ninety-five centres have been involved from 19 countries and four continents from 24 March to 16 November 2021. Forty-eight out of 95 have already obtained the approval from their local ethics committees. At present, the platform counts 259 users (95 principal investigators, 160 site investigators, 2 lead investigators, and 2 data managers). The AIDA Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 3943 fields organised into 13 instruments, including patient’s demographics, history, symptoms,trigger/risk factors, therapies and health care utilization for patients with NIU. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA Registry for patients with NIU will facilitate the collection of standardised data leading to real-world evidence and enabling international multicentre collaborative research through inclusion of patients and their families worldwide

Musculoskeletal manifestations in children with Behçet's syndrome: data from the AIDA Network Behçet's Syndrome Registry

This study aims to describe musculoskeletal manifestations (MSM) in children with Behçet’s syndrome (BS), their association with other disease manifestations, response to therapy, and long-term prognosis. Data were retrieved from the AIDA Network Behçet’s Syndrome Registry. Out of a total of 141 patients with juvenile BS, 37 had MSM at disease onset (26.2%). The median age at onset was 10.0 years (IQR 7.7). The median follow-up duration was 21.8 years (IQR 23.3). Recurrent oral (100%) and genital ulcers (67.6%) and pseudofolliculitis (56.8%) were the most common symptoms associated with MSM. At disease onset, 31 subjects had arthritis (83.8%), 33 arthralgia (89.2%), and 14 myalgia (37.8%). Arthritis was monoarticular in 9/31 cases (29%), oligoarticular in 10 (32.3%), polyarticular in 5 (16.1%), axial in 7 (22.6%). Over time, arthritis became chronic-recurrent in 67.7% of cases and 7/31 patients had joint erosions (22.6%). The median Behçet's Syndrome Overall Damage Index was 0 (range 0–4). Colchicine was inefcacious for MSM in 4/14 cases (28.6%), independently from the type of MSM (p=0.46) or the concomitant therapy (p=0.30 for cDMARDs, p=1.00 for glucocorticoids); cDMARDs and bDMARDs were inefcacious for MSM in 6/19 (31.4%) and 5/12 (41.7%) cases. The presence of myalgia was associated with bDMARDs inefcacy (p=0.014). To conclude, MSM in children with BS are frequently associated with recurrent ulcers and pseudofolliculitis. Arthritis is mostly mono- or oligoarticular, but sacroiliitis is not unusual. Prognosis of this subset of BS is overall favorable, though the presence of myalgia negatively afects response to biologic therapies

Development and Implementation of the AIDA International Registry for Patients With VEXAS Syndrome

Objective: The aim of this paper is to present the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) international Registry dedicated to Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic (VEXAS) syndrome, describing its design, construction, and modalities of dissemination. Methods: This Registry is a clinical, physician-driven, population- and electronic-based instrument designed for the retrospective and prospective collection of real-life data. Data gathering is based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool and is intended to obtain real-world evidence for daily patients' management. The Registry may potentially communicate with other on-line tools dedicated to VEXAS syndrome, thus enhancing international collaboration and data sharing for research purposes. The Registry is practical enough to be easily modified to meet future needs regarding VEXAS syndrome. Results: To date (April 22nd, 2022), 113 Centers from 23 Countries in 4 continents have been involved; 324 users (114 Principal Investigators, 205 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 3 data managers) are currently able to access the registry for data entry (or data sharing) and collection. The Registry includes 4,952 fields organized into 18 instruments designed to fully describe patient's details about demographics, clinical manifestations, symptoms, histologic details about skin and bone marrow biopsies and aspirate, laboratory features, complications, comorbidities, therapies, and healthcare access. Conclusion: This international Registry for patients with VEXAS syndrome will allow the achievement of a comprehensive knowledge about this new disease, with the final goal to obtain real-world evidence for daily clinical practice, especially in relation to the comprehension of this disease about the natural history and the possible therapeutic approaches

The AutoInflammatory Diseases Alliance Registry of monogenic autoinflammatory diseases

Objective: The present manuscript aims to describe an international, electronic-based, user-friendly and interoperable patient registry for monogenic autoinflammatory diseases (mAIDs), developed in the contest of the Autoinflammatory Diseases Alliance (AIDA) Network. Methods: This is an electronic platform, based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, used for real-world data collection of demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data of mAIDs patients. The instrument has flexibility, may change over time based on new scientific acquisitions, and communicate potentially with other similar registries; security, data quality and data governance are corner stones of the platform. Results: AIDA project will share knowledge and expertise on mAIDs. Since its start, 118 centers from 24 countries and 4 continents have joined the AIDA project. Fifty-nine centers have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 337 users (122 Principal Investigators, 210 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 3 data managers). The Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 3,748 fields organized into 21 instruments, which include demographics, patient history, symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies, and healthcare information for mAIDs patients. Conclusions: The AIDA mAIDs Registry, acts both as a research tool for future collaborative real-life studies on mAIDs and as a service to connect all the figures called to participate. On this basis, the registry is expected to play a pivotal role in generating new scientific evidence on this group of rare diseases, substantially improving the management of patients, and optimizing the impact on the healthcare system. NCT 05200715 available at https://clinicaltrials.go

Development and Implementation of the AIDA International Registry for Patients With VEXAS Syndrome

83siObjective: The aim of this paper is to present the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) international Registry dedicated to Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic (VEXAS) syndrome, describing its design, construction, and modalities of dissemination. Methods: This Registry is a clinical, physician-driven, population- and electronic-based instrument designed for the retrospective and prospective collection of real-life data. Data gathering is based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool and is intended to obtain real-world evidence for daily patients' management. The Registry may potentially communicate with other on-line tools dedicated to VEXAS syndrome, thus enhancing international collaboration and data sharing for research purposes. The Registry is practical enough to be easily modified to meet future needs regarding VEXAS syndrome. Results: To date (April 22nd, 2022), 113 Centers from 23 Countries in 4 continents have been involved; 324 users (114 Principal Investigators, 205 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 3 data managers) are currently able to access the registry for data entry (or data sharing) and collection. The Registry includes 4,952 fields organized into 18 instruments designed to fully describe patient's details about demographics, clinical manifestations, symptoms, histologic details about skin and bone marrow biopsies and aspirate, laboratory features, complications, comorbidities, therapies, and healthcare access. Conclusion: This international Registry for patients with VEXAS syndrome will allow the achievement of a comprehensive knowledge about this new disease, with the final goal to obtain real-world evidence for daily clinical practice, especially in relation to the comprehension of this disease about the natural history and the possible therapeutic approaches. This Project can be found on https://clinicaltrials.gov NCT05200715.noneVitale A, Caggiano V, Della Casa F, Hernández-Rodríguez J, Frassi M, Monti S, Tufan A, Telesca S, Conticini E, Ragab G, Lopalco G, Almaghlouth I, Pereira RMR, Yildirim D, Cattalini M, Marino A, Giani T, La Torre F, Ruscitti P, Aragona E, Wiesik-Szewczyk E, Del Giudice E, Sfikakis PP, Govoni M, Emmi G, Maggio MC, Giacomelli R, Ciccia F, Conti G, Ait-Idir D, Lomater C, Sabato V, Piga M, Sahin A, Opris-Belinski D, Ionescu R, Bartoloni E, Franceschini F, Parronchi P, de Paulis A, Espinosa G, Maier A, Sebastiani GD, Insalaco A, Shahram F, Sfriso P, Minoia F, Alessio M, Makowska J, Hatemi G, Akkoç N, Li Gobbi F, Gidaro A, Olivieri AN, Al-Mayouf SM, Erten S, Gentileschi S, Vasi I, Tarsia M, Mahmoud AAA, Frediani B, Fares Alzahrani M, Laymouna AH, Ricci F, Cardinale F, Jahnz-Rózyk K, Tosi GM, Crisafulli F, Balistreri A, Dagostin MA, Ghanema M, Gaggiano C, Sota J, Di Cola I, Fabiani C, Giardini HAM, Renieri A, Fabbiani A, Carrer A, Bocchia M, Caroni F, Rigante D, Cantarini LVitale, A; Caggiano, V; Della Casa, F; Hernández-Rodríguez, J; Frassi, M; Monti, S; Tufan, A; Telesca, S; Conticini, E; Ragab, G; Lopalco, G; Almaghlouth, I; Pereira, Rmr; Yildirim, D; Cattalini, M; Marino, A; Giani, T; La Torre, F; Ruscitti, P; Aragona, E; Wiesik-Szewczyk, E; Del Giudice, E; Sfikakis, Pp; Govoni, M; Emmi, G; Maggio, Mc; Giacomelli, R; Ciccia, F; Conti, G; Ait-Idir, D; Lomater, C; Sabato, V; Piga, M; Sahin, A; Opris-Belinski, D; Ionescu, R; Bartoloni, E; Franceschini, F; Parronchi, P; de Paulis, A; Espinosa, G; Maier, A; Sebastiani, Gd; Insalaco, A; Shahram, F; Sfriso, P; Minoia, F; Alessio, M; Makowska, J; Hatemi, G; Akkoç, N; Li Gobbi, F; Gidaro, A; Olivieri, An; Al-Mayouf, Sm; Erten, S; Gentileschi, S; Vasi, I; Tarsia, M; Mahmoud, Aaa; Frediani, B; Fares Alzahrani, M; Laymouna, Ah; Ricci, F; Cardinale, F; Jahnz-Rózyk, K; Tosi, Gm; Crisafulli, F; Balistreri, A; Dagostin, Ma; Ghanema, M; Gaggiano, C; Sota, J; Di Cola, I; Fabiani, C; Giardini, Ham; Renieri, A; Fabbiani, A; Carrer, A; Bocchia, M; Caroni, F; Rigante, D; Cantarini,

Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with Behçet's disease

Objective: Purpose of the present paper is to point out the design, development and deployment of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to pediatric and adult patients with Behçet’s disease (BD). Methods: The Registry is a clinical physician-driven population- and electronic-based instrument implemented for the retrospective and prospective collection of real-life data about demographics, clinical, therapeutic, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic information from BD patients; the Registry is based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, which is thought to collect standardised information for clinical real-life research, and has been realised to change over time according to future scientific acquisitions and potentially communicate with other existing and future Registries dedicated to BD. Results: Starting from January 31st to November 23rd, 2021, 99 centres from 20 countries in 4 continents have been involved. Forty-eight of these have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 265 users (99 Principal Investigators, 162 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 2 data managers). The Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 5474 fields organised into 15 instruments, including patient’s demographics, history, clinical manifestations and symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies and healthcare access. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for BD patients will facilitate the collection of standardised data leading to real-world evidence, enabling international multicentre collaborative research through data sharing, international consultation, dissemination of knowledge, inclusion of patients and families, and ultimately optimisation of scientific efforts and implementation of standardised care