Behavioural patterns in allergic rhinitis medication in Europe: A study using MASK-air® real-world data

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAMBackground: Co-medication is common among patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), but its dimension and patterns are unknown. This is particularly relevant since AR is understood differently across European countries, as reflected by rhinitis-related search patterns in Google Trends. This study aims to assess AR co-medication and its regional patterns in Europe, using real-world data. Methods: We analysed 2015–2020 MASK-air® European data. We compared days under no medication, monotherapy and co-medication using the visual analogue scale (VAS) levels for overall allergic symptoms (‘VAS Global Symptoms’) and impact of AR on work. We assessed the monthly use of different medication schemes, performing separate analyses by region (defined geographically or by Google Trends patterns). We estimated the average number of different drugs reported per patient within 1 year. Results: We analysed 222,024 days (13,122 users), including 63,887 days (28.8%) under monotherapy and 38,315 (17.3%) under co-medication. The median ‘VAS Global Symptoms’ was 7 for no medication days, 14 for monotherapy and 21 for co-medication (p <.001). Medication use peaked during the spring, with similar patterns across different European regions (defined geographically or by Google Trends). Oral H1-antihistamines were the most common medication in single and co-medication. Each patient reported using an annual average of 2.7 drugs, with 80% reporting two or more. Conclusions: Allergic rhinitis medication patterns are similar across European regions. One third of treatment days involved co-medication. These findings suggest that patients treat themselves according to their symptoms (irrespective of how they understand AR) and that co-medication use is driven by symptom severityThis study was funded by ARIA. MASK-air® has been supported by EU grants (EU Structural and Development grant, POLLAR: EIT Health and Structural and Development Funds) and educational grants from Mylan-Viatris, ALK, GSK, Novartis and Uriach. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEA

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Los basófilos en el diagnóstico alergológico

Tesis doctoral original inédita leída en la Universidad de Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina. Fecha de lectura: 10 de diciembre de 198

Comunicación breve Alergia a betalactámicos

El metabolismo de los antibióticos betalactámicos produce nuevos compuestos que unidos a proteínas plasmáticas pueden inducir, en una pequeña proporción de casos, una respuesta inmune nociva que en el 50% de los mismos está mediada por inmunoglobulina E (IgE). Los determinantes antigénicos mayores y menores de la penicilina son de gran utilidad en el diagnóstico in vivo de la alergia a este compuesto, con una sensibilidad de hasta un 70%, pero la detección in vitro de IgE específica tiene una menor sensibilidad que la prueba cutánea. Los cambios en la prescripción antibiótica han facilitado la aparición de individuos alérgicos a la ampicilina o la amoxicilina que toleran la penicilina G o V

Allergy to betalactams

RESUMEN: El metabolismo de los antibióticos betalactámicos produce nuevos compuestos que unidos a proteínas plasmáticas pueden inducir, en una pequeña proporción de casos, una respuesta inmune nociva que en el 50% de los mismos está mediada por inmunoglobulina E (IgE). Los determinantes antigénicos mayores y menores de la penicilina son de gran utilidad en el diagnóstico in vivo de la alergia a este compuesto, con una sensibilidad de hasta un 70%, pero la detección in vitro de IgE específica tiene una menor sensibilidad que la prueba cutánea. Los cambios en la prescripción antibiótica han facilitado la aparición de individuos alérgicos a la ampicilina o la amoxicilina que toleran la penicilina G o V.ABSTRACT: Metabolism of betalactamic antibiotics produces new compounds that may induce, in a small proportion of cases, when joined to plasmatic proteins, a harmful immune response, mediated in 50% of the cases by immunoglobulin E (IgE). Major and minor penicillin antigenic determinants are of great usefulness for in vivo diagnosis of allergy to this compound; they provide up to 70% of sensitivity; however, in vitro detection of specific IgE has less sensitivity than the skin test. Changes in antibiotic prescription have facilitated the appearance of allergic individuals to ampicillin and amoxicillin who tolerate either penicillin G or V

Práctica clínica diaria en el manejo de la urticaria crónica en España: resultados del estudio UCREX

Background: Chronic Urticaria (CU) is a debilitating disease whose treatment is mainly symptomatic. UCREX study aimed to identify CU patients' profile, disease management and quality-of-life (QoL) in daily clinical practice in Spain. Methods: Observational, 12-months prospective, multicenter study, included de novo or established CU patients attending to dermatology/allergy consultations in 39 Spanish hospitals. Main variables: Urticaria Activity Score (UAS), UAS over 7 days (UAS7). Secondary variables: CU-QoL Questionnaire (CU-Q2oL), EuroQol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D), Medical Outcomes Study Sleep (MOS-Sleep) scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: 361 patients included. Of them, 176 (48.8%) considered for the main objective analysis. Mean age (SD) of 46.6 (14.2) years and 71.8% women. The year prior to inclusion, most patients (57.1%) were treated with non-sedating H1-antihistamines (NS-H1AH). At baseline, mean (SD) 3.6 (6.8) visits were registered to primary care. Mean (SD) UAS7 at baseline was 14.3 (11.0) and CU-Q2oL 24.1 (17.0) which tended to improve by 8.6 (9.7) and 13.9 (15.0), respectively, at 12-months. MOS-Sleep and EQ-5D remained steady during the study, except pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression which went from 58.7% and 49.6% to 29.6% and 26.9%, respectively. At baseline, HADS showed a mean (SD) anxiety of 8.7 (4.5) and depression 5.1 (4.4), decreasing to 7.0 (4.3) and 4.7 (4.3), respectively, at 12-months. Conclusions: Although most CU patients are treated with NS-H1AH, disease activity is still important, negatively affecting patients' QoL, work activity and healthcare resources use. An appropriate disease management could be the basis for symptoms control, QoL improvement and resources optimization.Antecedentes: La urticaria crónica (UC) es una enfermedad debilitante cuyo tratamiento es principalmente sintomático. El estudio UCREX tuvo como objetivo identificar el perfil de los pacientes con UC, el manejo de la enfermedad y la calidad de vida (CdV) en la práctica clínica diaria en España. Métodos: Estudio observacional, prospectivo, multicéntrico de 12 meses, que incluyó pacientes con UC de novo o establecida que acudieron a la consulta de dermatología/alergología de 39 hospitales españoles. Las variables principales fueron: el Urticaria Activity Score (UAS) y el UAS por siete días (UAS7). Las variables secundarias fueron: el cuestionario de CdV de urticaria crónica (CU-Q2oL), el EuroQol-5 Dimensiones (EQ-5D), la escala Medical Outcomes Study Sleep (MOS-Sleep) y la escala hospitalaria de ansiedad y depresión (HADS). Resultados: Se incluyeron 361 pacientes, de los cuales 176 (48,8%) formaron parte del análisis del objetivo principal. La edad media (DE) fue de 46,6 (14,2) años y el 71,8% eran del sexo femenino. El año anterior al periodo de inclusión de los pacientes, la mayoría de ellos (57,1%) se habían tratado con antihistamínicos H1 no sedantes (AHNS-H1). En la basal, se registró una media (DE) de 3,6 (6,8) de visitas a atención primaria. La media (DE) del UAS7 en la basal fue de 14,3 (11,0) y del CU-Q2oL 24,1 (17,0), observándose una tendencia en la mejoría en 8,6 (9,7) y 13,9 (15,0), respectivamente, a los 12 meses. El MOS-Sleep y el EQ-5D se mantuvieron estables durante el estudio, excepto por el dolor/malestar y la ansiedad/depresión que pasaron de 58,7 y 49,6% a 29,6 y 26,9%, respectivamente. En situación basal, el HADS mostró una ansiedad media (DE) de 8,7 (4,5) y una depresión de 5,1 (4,4), disminuyendo respectivamente a 7,0 (4,3) y 4,7 (4,3) a los 12 meses. Conclusiones: Aunque la mayoría de los pacientes son tratados con AHNS-H1, la actividad de la enfermedad sigue siendo importante, afectando negativamente a su CdV, su actividad laboral y repercutiendo negativamente en el uso de recursos sanitarios. Un manejo adecuado de la enfermedad podría ser la base para alcanzar el control de los síntomas, la mejora de la CdV y la optimización de los recursos sanitarios necesarios

Identification of Asthma Phenotypes in the Spanish MEGA Cohort Study Using Cluster Analysis

Introduction: The definition of asthma phenotypes has not been fully established, neither there are cluster studies showing homogeneous results to solidly establish clear phenotypes. The purpose of this study was to develop a classification algorithm based on unsupervised cluster analysis, identifying clusters that represent clinically relevant asthma phenotypes that may share asthma-related outcomes. Methods: We performed a multicentre prospective cohort study, including adult patients with asthma (N = 512) from the MEGA study (Mechanisms underlying the Genesis and evolution of Asthma). A standardised clinical history was completed for each patient. Cluster analysis was performed using the kernel k-groups algorithm. Results: Four clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (31.5% of subjects) includes adult-onset atopic patients with better lung function, lower BMI, good asthma control, low ICS dose, and few exacerbations. Cluster 2 (23.6%) is made of adolescent-onset atopic asthma patients with normal lung function, but low adherence to treatment (59% well-controlled) and smokers (48%). Cluster 3 (17.1%) includes adult-onset patients, mostly severe non-atopic, with overweight, the worse lung function and asthma control, and receiving combination of treatments. Cluster 4 (26.7%) consists of the elderly-onset patients, mostly female, atopic (64%), with high BMI and normal lung function, prevalence of smokers and comorbidities. Conclusion: We defined four phenotypes of asthma using unsupervised cluster analysis. These clusters are clinically relevant and differ from each other as regards FEV1, age of onset, age, BMI, atopy, asthma severity, exacerbations, control, social class, smoking and nasal polyps