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1.
Safety and efficacy of pharmacological approaches available for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C): a systematic review
Velusamy, Y., Vivekanandan, G., Romli, M. H., Shankar, A., Karuppiah, T., Yubbu, P.
The Turkish journal of pediatrics. 2023;65(5):719-738
Abstract
BACKGROUND To describe the existing pharmacological managements for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) in a systematic way, to identify the available pharmacological managements in MIS-C, evaluate its safety and efficacy and identify the best treatment procedures for practice recommendation. METHODS A systematic search using six databases was conducted on August 18, 2021, updated in January 26th 2023. Terminologies that were used in this search are children, MIS-C/PIMS and SARS-CoV-2. A PRISMA flow diagram was used to report the study selection process. Quality analysis was done based on NOS and GRADE tools. Data synthesis was conducted by extracting the information on drugs used, efficacy and side effects. RESULTS From the 32 articles included, a total of 2331 children with MIS-C were studied. The main pharmacological approaches were immunomodulatory therapy, i.e., intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (77.3%), steroids (60.5%), and a combination of IVIG and steroids (41.3%). IVIG and steroids were found to be potentially effective and safe treatments for MIS-C. Combination of IVIG and steroids was found favorable in severe cases with higher recovery rate. Refractory treatments include second dose of initial treatment and biological response modifier drugs like anakinra, tocilizumab, infliximab. A small number of studies investigating supportive treatment consisted of vasoactive, inotropic and anticoagulation. The mortality rate was 1.28% and only three studies reported side effects from the treatment. Evidence of outcome from GRADE were mostly at moderate, low and very low levels. CONCLUSIONS This review provides preliminary evidence to support the current standard treatment practices in managing MIS-C pharmacologically. However, comprehensive investigation is required using clinical trials to provide stronger outcome evidence.
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2.
Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of relapse prevention therapy for myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease
Chang X, Zhang J, Li S, Wu P, Wang R, Zhang C, Wu Y
Multiple sclerosis and related disorders. 2023;72:104571
Abstract
BACKGROUND Approximately 40% of adults and 30% of children with Myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) experience a relapsing course, but the optimal relapse prevention therapy remains unclear. A meta- analysis was conducted to investigate the efficacy of azathioprine (AZA), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), rituximab (RTX), maintenance intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and tocilizumab (TCZ) in prevention of attacks in MOGAD. METHODS English and Chinese-language articles published from January 2010 to May 2022 were searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and China Science and Technology Journal Database (CQVIP). Studies with fewer than three cases were excluded. Meta-analysis of the relapse-free rate, the change of annualized relapse rate (ARR)and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores before and after treatment, and an age subgroup analysis was performed. RESULTS A total of 41 studies were included. Three were prospective cohort studies, one was an ambispective cohort study, and 37 were retrospective cohort studies or case series. Eleven, eighteen, eighteen, eight, and two studies were included in the meta-analysis for relapse-free probability after AZA, MMF, RTX, IVIG, and TCZ therapy, respectively. The proportions of patients without relapse after AZA, MMF, RTX, IVIG, and TCZ were 65% [95% confidence interval (CI):49%-82%]), 73% (95%CI:62%-84%), 66% (95%CI:55%-77%), 79% (95%CI:66%-91%), and 93% (95%CI:54%-100%), respectively. The relapse-free rate did not significantly differ between the children and adults treated with each medication. Six, nine, ten, and three studies were included in the meta-analysis for the change of ARR before and after AZA, MMF, RTX, and IVIG therapy, respectively. ARR was significantly decreased after AZA, MMF, RTX, and IVIG therapy with a mean reduction of 1.58 (95%CI: [-2.29--0.87]), 1.32 (95%CI: [-1.57--1.07]), 1.01 (95%CI: [-1.34--0.67]), and 1.84 (95%CI: [-2.66--1.02]), respectively. The change in ARR did not significantly differ between children and adults. CONCLUSIONS AZA, MMF, RTX, maintenance IVIG, and TCZ all reduce the risk of relapse in both pediatric and adult patients with MOGAD. The literatures included in the meta-analysis were mainly retrospective studies, so large randomized prospective clinical trials are needed to compare the efficacy of different treatments.
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3.
Prediction Models for Intravenous Immunoglobulin Resistance in Kawasaki Disease: A Meta-analysis
Kuniyoshi Y, Tsujimoto Y, Banno M, Taito S, Ariie T, Takahashi N, Tokutake H, Takada T
Pediatrics. 2023
Abstract
CONTEXT Approximately 10% to 20% of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) are refractory to initial intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy. KD is mainly associated with coronary artery abnormalities. OBJECTIVES To identify and evaluate all developed prediction models for IVIG resistance in patients with KD and synthesize evidence from external validation studies that evaluated their predictive performances. DATA SOURCES PubMed Medline, Dialog Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception until October 5, 2021. STUDY SELECTION All cohort studies that reported patients diagnosed with KD who underwent an initial IVIG of 2 g/kg were selected. DATA EXTRACTION Study and patient characteristics and model performance measures. Two authors independently extracted data from the studies. RESULTS The Kobayashi, Egami, Sano, Formosa, and Harada scores were the only prediction models with 3 or more external validation of the161 model analyses in 48 studies. The summary C-statistics were 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57-0.73), 0.63 (95% CI: 0.55-0.71), 0.58 (95% CI: 0.55-0.60), 0.50 (95% CI: 0.36-0.63), and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.44-0.78) for the Kobayashi, Egami, Sano, Formosa, and Harada models, respectively. All 5 models showed low positive predictive values (0.14-0.39) and high negative predictive values (0.85-0.92). LIMITATIONS Potential differences in the characteristics of the target population among studies and lack of assessment of calibrations. CONCLUSIONS None of the 5 prediction models with external validation accurately distinguished between patients with and without IVIG resistance.
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4.
Comparison of IVIg and TPE efficacy in the treatment of neurological disorders: a systematic literature review
Pinto, A. A., De Seze, J., Jacob, A., Reddel, S., Yudina, A., Tan, K.
Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders. 2023;16:17562864231154306
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) are among the main immunotherapies for neurological disorders. Their benefit is greatest in immune-mediated conditions, but their distinct efficacy cannot be simply explained. OBJECTIVES This review aimed to systematically identify studies comparing the efficacy of TPE and IVIg treatments for selected autoimmune neurological disorders and identify optimal therapies for each condition. DATA SOURCES AND METHODS PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched for original publications from 1990 to 2021. Additional publications were identified via expert recommendations. Conference abstracts older than 2017, review articles and articles without information on TPE and IVIg comparison in title and abstract were excluded. Risks of bias were descriptively addressed, without a meta-analysis. RESULTS Forty-four studies were included on Guillain-Barré syndrome (20 studies - 12 adult, 5 paediatric, 3 all ages), myasthenia gravis (11 studies -8 adult, 3 paediatric), chronic immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy (3 studies -1 adult, 2 paediatric), encephalitis (1 study in adults), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (5 studies -2 adult, 3 all ages) and other conditions (4 studies - all ages). TPE and IVIg were mostly similarly efficacious, measured by clinical outcomes and disease severity scores. Some studies recommended IVIg as easy to administer. TPE procedures, however, have been simplified and the safety has been improved. TPE is currently recommended for management of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder relapses and some myasthenia gravis subtypes, in which rapid removal of autoantibodies is crucial. CONCLUSION Despite some limitations (e.g. the low evidence levels), this review provides an extensive 30-year-long overview of treatments for various conditions. Both IVIg and TPE are usually comparably efficacious options for autoimmune neurological disorders, with few exceptions. Treatment choices should be patient-tailored and based on available clinical resources. Better designed studies are needed to provide higher-level quality of evidence regarding clinical efficacy of TPE and IVIg treatments.
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5.
A systematic review on efficacy, safety and treatment durability of intravenous immunoglobulin in autoimmune bullous dermatoses: Special focus on indication and combination therapy
Kianfar N, Dasdar S, Daneshpazhooh M, Aryanian Z, Goodarzi A
Experimental dermatology. 2023
Abstract
Autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBDs) are a group of rare blistering dermatoses of the mucous membrane and/or skin. The efficacy, safety and treatment durability of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) as an alternative treatment should be explored to systematically review the available literature regarding treatment outcomes with IVIg in AIBD patients. The predefined search strategy was incorporated into the following database, MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science on 18 July 2022. Sixty studies were enrolled using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. The use of IVIg alone or combined with rituximab was reported in 500 patients with pemphigus, 82 patients with bullous pemphigoid, 146 patients with mucous membranes pemphigoid and 19 patients with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. Disease remission with IVIg therapy and RTX + IVIg combination therapy were recorded as 82.8% and 86.7% in pemphigus, 88.0% and 100% in bullous pemphigoid and 91.3% and 75.0% in mucous membrane pemphigoid, respectively. In epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, treatment with IVIg led to 78.6% disease remission; no data were available regarding the treatment with RTX + IVIg in this group of patients. Among all the included patients, 37.5% experienced at least one IVIg-related side effect; the most common ones were headaches, fever/chills and nausea/vomiting. The use of IVIg with or without rituximab had a favourable clinical response in patients with AIBDs. IVIg has no major influence on the normal immune system, which makes its utilization for patients with AIBDs reasonable.
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6.
Immunomodulatory Therapy for MIS-C
Ouldali, N., Son, M. B. F., McArdle, A. J., Vito, O., Vaugon, E., Belot, A., Leblanc, C., Murray, N. L., Patel, M. M., Levin, M., et al
Pediatrics. 2023;152(1)
Abstract
CONTEXT Studies comparing initial therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) provided conflicting results. OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes in MIS-C patients treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), glucocorticoids, or the combination thereof. DATA SOURCES Medline, Embase, CENTRAL and WOS, from January 2020 to February 2022. STUDY SELECTION Randomized or observational comparative studies including MIS-C patients <21 years. DATA EXTRACTION Two reviewers independently selected studies and obtained individual participant data. The main outcome was cardiovascular dysfunction (CD), defined as left ventricular ejection fraction < 55% or vasopressor requirement ≥ day 2 of initial therapy, analyzed with a propensity score-matched analysis. RESULTS Of 2635 studies identified, 3 nonrandomized cohorts were included. The meta-analysis included 958 children. IVIG plus glucocorticoids group as compared with IVIG alone had improved CD (odds ratio [OR] 0.62 [0.42-0.91]). Glucocorticoids alone group as compared with IVIG alone did not have improved CD (OR 0.57 [0.31-1.05]). Glucocorticoids alone group as compared with IVIG plus glucocorticoids did not have improved CD (OR 0.67 [0.24-1.86]). Secondary analyses found better outcomes associated with IVIG plus glucocorticoids compared with glucocorticoids alone (fever ≥ day 2, need for secondary therapies) and better outcomes associated with glucocorticoids alone compared with IVIG alone (left ventricular ejection fraction < 55% ≥ day 2). LIMITATIONS Nonrandomized nature of included studies. CONCLUSIONS In a meta-analysis of MIS-C patients, IVIG plus glucocorticoids was associated with improved CD compared with IVIG alone. Glucocorticoids alone was not associated with improved CD compared with IVIG alone or IVIG plus glucocorticoids.
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7.
Treatment of immunoglobulin-resistant kawasaki disease: a Bayesian network meta-analysis of different regimens
Pan, Y., Fan, Q., Hu, L.
Frontiers in pediatrics. 2023;11:1149519
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to gather evidence from clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of the available treatments for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)-resistant Kawasaki disease (KD) in children. METHODS This work adopted the Newcastle-Ottawa scale to analyse the quality of the enrolled articles. A network meta-analysis was performed using clinical trials that compared drugs used to treat IVIG-resistant KD. Aggregate Data Drug Information System software v.1.16.5 was employed to analyse whether infliximab, second IVIG infusions, and intravenous pulse methylprednisolone (IVMP) were safe and effective. RESULTS Ten studies, involving 704 patients with IVIG-resistant KD, were identified and analysed. Overall, infliximab exhibited remarkable antipyretic activity compared with the second IVIG infusions (2.46, 1.00-6.94). According to the drug rank, infliximab was the best option against IVIG-resistant KD. Regarding adverse effects, the infliximab group was more prone to hepatomegaly. A second IVIG infusion was more likely to result in haemolytic anaemia. IVMP treatment was more susceptible to bradycardia, hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and hypothermia. In addition, infliximab, IVMP, and the second IVIG infusions showed no significant differences in the risk of developing a coronary artery aneurysm (CAA). CONCLUSION Infliximab was the best option against IVIG-resistant KD, and IVMP, infliximab, and second IVIG infusions have not significant differences of prevent CAA in patients with IVIG-resistant KD. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION Identifier: https://osf.io/3894y.
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8.
Efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Fatemi, B., Rezaei, S., Peikanpour, M., Dastan, F., Saffaei, A.
Research in pharmaceutical sciences. 2023;18(4):346-357
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Though controversial, many clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) in COVID-19 cases. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis have been performed to evaluate the efficacy of IVIG in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH A systematic search was performed in electronic databases and preprint servers up to November 20, 2021. Since substantial heterogeneity was expected, a random-effects model was applied to pool effect size from included studies to calculate the standardized mean differences (SMDs) for the continuous variables and relative risks (RRs) for the dichotomous variable with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). FINDINGS/RESULTS Five randomized clinical trials and seven cohort studies were analyzed among the 12 eligible studies with a total of 2,156 patients. The pooled RR of mortality was 0.77 (CI 0.59-1.01, P-value = 0.06), and of mechanical ventilation was 1.50 (CI 0.29-7.83; P-value = 0.63) in the IVIG group compared with the standard care group. The pooled SMD of hospital length of stay was 0.84 (CI -0.43-2.11; P-value = 0.20) and of ICU length of stay was -0.07 (CI -0.92-0.78; P-value = 0.86) in the IVIG group compared with the standard care group. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS This meta-analysis found that the IVIG therapy was not statistically different from the standard care group. Mortality, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, and length of ICU stay were not significantly improved among IVIG recipients. However, statistical indifference is not equal to clinical indifference.
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9.
Case report: Acute necrotizing encephalopathy: a report of a favorable outcome and systematic meta-analysis of outcomes with different immunosuppressive therapies
Fischell, S. Z., Fischell, J., Kliot, T., Tumulty, J., Thompson, S. J., Raees, M. Q.
Frontiers in neurology. 2023;14:1239746
Abstract
Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy (ANE) is a condition characterized by symmetric, bilateral lesions affecting the thalamus and potentially other areas of the brain following an acute febrile illness. It manifests clinically as abrupt development of encephalopathy, or alteration in mental status that often includes development of seizures and progression to coma. Treatment strategies combine immunosuppressive therapies and supportive care with varying levels of recovery, however there are no universally accepted, data-driven, treatment algorithms for ANE. We first report a case of a previously healthy 10-year-old female with acute onset diplopia, visual hallucinations, lethargy, and seizures in the setting of subacute non-specific viral symptoms and found to have bilateral thalamic and brainstem lesions on MRI consistent with ANE. She was treated with a combination of immunomodulatory therapies and ultimately had a good outcome. Next, we present a meta-analysis of 10 articles with a total of 158 patients meeting clinical and radiographic criteria for ANE. Each article reported immunosuppressive treatments received, and associated morbidity or mortality outcome for each individual patient. Through our analysis, we confirm the effectiveness of high-dose, intravenous, methylprednisolone (HD-IV-MP) therapy implemented early in the disease course (initiation within 24 h of neurologic symptom onset). There was no significant difference between patients treated with and without intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). There was no benefit of combining IVIG with early HD-IV-MP. There is weak evidence suggesting a benefit of IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab, especially when used in combination with early HD-IV-MP, though this analysis was limited by sample size. Finally, plasma exchange (PLEX) improved survival. We hope this meta-analysis will be useful for clinicians making treatment decisions for patients with this potentially devastating condition.
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10.
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus - treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins: A systematic review
Andrusiów, S., Pawlak, Z., Stańczykiewicz, B., Bogunia-Kubik, K., Koszewicz, M.
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie. 2023;164:114974
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare disease, but it is one of the most common inflammatory neuropathies in the population. It is particularly common among patients with diabetes mellitus. This raises many problems, both with the differential diagnosis of diabetic and inflammatory neuropathy, as well as the choice of treatment. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is one of the therapeutic options. There is evidence for the effectiveness of IVIG in treating about two-thirds of patients. However, no review has been published to date systematising studies evaluating the response to IVIG treatment in patients with CIDP and coexisting diabetes. METHODS The present study is based on the PRISMA statement and is registered at PROSPERO (CRD42022356180). The study included searches of the databases of MEDLINE, ERIC, CINAHL Complete, Academic Search Ultimate and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, finally including seven original papers evaluating a total of 534 patients in the review. The main inclusion criteria were the presence of a group of patients with CIDP and comorbid diabetes in the study. RESULTS The systematic review showed a lower efficacy of IVIG treatment among patients with coexisting diabetes compared with idiopathic CIDP (61 % vs 71 %). In addition, the presence of conduction blocks on neurography and shorter disease duration proved to be significant factors improving response to treatment. CONCLUSIONS Current scientific data do not allow for strong recommendations on the choice of treatment for CIDP. A randomised, multicentre study evaluating the efficacy of different therapeutic approaches to this disease entity needs to be planned.
