1.
Use of vasoactive/vasodilating drugs for systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related digital ulcers (DUs) in expert tertiary centres: results from the analysis of the observational real-life DeSScipher study.
Blagojevic, J, Abignano, G, Avouac, J, Cometi, L, Frerix, M, Bellando-Randone, S, Guiducci, S, Bruni, C, Huscher, D, Jaeger, VK, et al
Clinical rheumatology. 2020;(1):27-36
Abstract
INTRODUCTION DeSScipher is the first European multicentre study on management of systemic sclerosis (SSc), and its observational trial 1 (OT1) evaluated the efficacy of different drugs for digital ulcer (DU) prevention and healing. The aim of this study was to assess current use of vasoactive/vasodilating agents for SSc-related DU in the expert centres by analysing the baseline data of the DeSScipher OT1. METHOD Baseline characteristics of patients enrolled in the OT1 and data regarding DU were analysed. RESULTS The most commonly used drugs, in both patients with and without DU, were calcium channel blockers (CCBs) (71.6%), followed by intravenous iloprost (20.8%), endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) (20.4%) and phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors (16.5%). Of patients, 32.6% with DU and 12.8% without DU received two drugs (p < 0.001), while 11.5% with DU and 1.9% without DU were treated with a combination of three or more agents (p < 0.001). Sixty-five percent of the patients with recurrent DU were treated with bosentan and/or sildenafil. However, 64 out of 277 patients with current DU (23.1%) and 101 (23.6%) patients with recurrent DU were on CCBs alone. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that CCBs are still the most commonly used agents for DU management in SSc. The proportion of patients on combination therapy was low, even in patients with recurrent DU: almost one out of four patients with current and recurrent DU was on CCBs alone. Prospective analysis is planned to investigate the efficacy of different drugs/drug combinations on DU healing and prevention. Key Points • The analysis of DeSScipher, the first European multicentre study on management of SSc, has shown that the most commonly used vasoactive/vasodilating drugs for DU were CCBs, followed by intravenous Iloprost, ERAs and PDE-5 inhibitors. • More than half of the patients with recurrent DU received bosentan and/or sildenafil. • However, the proportion of patients on combination therapy of more than one vasoactive/vasodilating drug was low and almost one out of four patients with current and recurrent DU was on CCBs alone.
2.
Relations of digital vascular function, cardiovascular risk factors, and arterial stiffness: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort study.
Brant, LC, Hamburg, NM, Barreto, SM, Benjamin, EJ, Ribeiro, AL
Journal of the American Heart Association. 2014;(6):e001279
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vascular dysfunction is an early expression of atherosclerosis and predicts cardiovascular (CV) events. Peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) evaluates basal pulse amplitude (BPA), endothelial function (PAT ratio), and wave reflection (PAT-AIx) in the digital microvessels. In Brazilian adults, we investigated the correlations of PAT responses to CV risk factors and to carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial stiffness. METHODS AND RESULTS In a cross-sectional study, 1535 participants of the ELSA-Brasil cohort underwent PAT testing (52±9 years; 44% women). In multivariable analyses, more-impaired BPA and PAT ratios were associated with male sex, higher body mass index (BMI), and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein. Higher age and triglycerides were related to higher BPA, whereas lower systolic blood pressure, hypertension (HTN) treatment, and prevalent CV disease (CVD) were associated with lower PAT ratio. PAT-AIx correlated positively with female sex, advancing age, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and smoking and inversely to heart rate, height, BMI, and prevalent CVD. Black race was associated with lower BPA, higher PAT ratio, and PAT-AIx. Microvessel vasodilator function was not associated with PWV. Higher PAT-AIx was modestly correlated to higher PWV and PAT ratio and inversely correlated to BPA. CONCLUSION Metabolic risk factors are related to impaired microvessel vasodilator function in Brazil. However, in contrast to studies from the United States, black race was not associated with an impaired microvessel vasodilator response, implying that vascular function may vary by race across populations. PAT-AIx relates to HTN, may be a valid measure of wave reflection, and provides distinct information from arterial stiffness.