Management of patients with pemphigus vulgaris during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of a second level dermatology center.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Diotallevi F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7436698 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Management of patients with pemphigus vulgaris during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of a second level dermatology center.
Diotallevi Federico F Simonetti Oriana O Radi Giulia G Campanati Anna A Brisigotti Valerio V Tagliati Corrado C Rizzetto Giulio G Martina Emanuela E Offidani Annamaria A
The Australasian journal of dermatology 20200805 1
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Project description:Pemphigus vulgaris is perhaps the most formidable disease encountered by dermatologists. In the days before steroid therapy the mortality rate was 95 per cent, death occuring usually within 14 months. The cause of death was septicaemia, starvation and toxic state. Corticosteroid, immunosuppressants and adjuvant therapy have reduced the mortality to 10-40 per cent with the cause of death being uncontrolled pemphigus, complications of corticosteroid and immunosuppressant therapy, septicaemia and thromboembolism. Elderly patients and patients with extensive lesions have higher mortality rate. Prognosis has further improved by intensive care, adequate fluid replacement, nutritional support, a co-herent antibacterial policy alongwith aggressive corticosteroid therapy and immunosuppressants. Plasmapheresis has been used in patients who fail to respond to conventional management. Extracorporeal photophoresis has been reported to be effective in patients with 'treatment resistance' pemphigus vulgaris.
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Project description:Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life-threatening disease belonging to the pemphigus group of autoimmune intra-epidermal bullous diseases of the skin and mucosae. The therapeutic management of PV remains challenging and, in some cases, conventional therapy is not adequate to induce clinical remission. The cornerstone of PV treatment remains systemic corticosteroids. Although very effective, long-term corticosteroid administration is characterized by substantial adverse effects. Corticosteroid-sparing adjuvant therapies have been employed in the treatment of PV, aiming to reduce the necessary cumulative dose of corticosteroids. Specifically, immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil are widely used in PV. More recently, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins, immunoadsorption, and rituximab have been established as additional successful therapeutic options. This review covers both conventional and emerging therapies in PV. In addition, it sheds light on potential future treatment strategies for this disease.
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Project description:Pemphigus is a rare group of autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering conditions for which the mainstay of treatment is immunosuppression. This is usually achieved with high dose corticosteroids as well as steroid sparing agents. Rituximab is now recommended as a first line treatment for moderate to severe pemphigus vulgaris, the commonest form of pemphigus, alongside corticosteroids. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic the use of rituximab was reduced in our department due to its long term irreversible B-cell suppression. During the COVID-19 pandemic careful pharmacological selection was undertaken for our pemphigus patients to balance the risks of immunosuppression. To demonstrate this, we report three pemphigus patients who required treatment for COVID-19 and assessment throughout the pandemic. To date there has been limited published data regarding the clinical outcomes of pemphigus patients who have developed COVID-19 infections following rituximab infusions, especially in those patients who have received COVID-19 vaccinations. Following careful personalized consideration, all three pemphigus patients presented received rituximab infusions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. These patients had also received COVID-19 vaccinations prior to becoming infected with COVID-19. Each patient had a mild COVID-19 infection after receiving rituximab. We advocate for all pemphigus patients to have a full course of COVID-19 vaccinations. Antibody response to COVID-19 vaccinations should ideally be confirmed by measuring pemphigus patient's SARS-CoV-2 antibodies prior to receiving rituximab.
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Project description:IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on health-care systems and reduced access to care. This study assays the mid-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer management over a 2-year-period in a single French Comprehensive Cancer Center.MethodsWe performed, in a French comprehensive cancer center, an observational study including all patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer between 2019 and 2021. We collected the number of first consultations for breast cancer, the number of breast and axillary surgeries, pTNM and ypTNM cancer staging, the therapeutic sequence (surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a primary treatment), patients' age and their place of residence.ResultsIn total, 14,772 patients had a first consultation for breast cancer. Among these 9058 breast and axillary surgeries were performed, 1798 patients had neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a primary treatment. During the first COVID-19 lockdown ( March17, 2020-May 10, 2020), we observed a reduction in the number of first consultations for breast cancer and breast cancer surgeries giving respectively a 42.3% and 27% rate of change. Subsequently, we observed a resumption of consultations and surgeries with a slight increase in early 2021 compared to 2019. In addition, we did not find any difference in terms of therapeutic sequence, pTNM and ypTNM stages, age at diagnosis or place of residence between the reference year 2019 and the years 2020 and 2021.ConclusionOur study shows a decrease in activity during the first lockdown of 2020, then a resumption of activity. These reassuring results only concern patients with breast cancer, and are specific to our institution, whose oncology activity was preserved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Project description:IntroductionBoth cellular and humoral responses are important for vaccine protection, but recommendations on immunosuppressants in dermatology are largely based on pre-pandemic experiences. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of immunosuppressants on humoral and cellular immunogenicity to COVID-19 vaccinations in pemphigus patients.MethodsSARS-CoV-2-naïve pemphigus patients and age-, and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited from multiple tertiary medical centers during 2021-2023. Anti-spike protein-related T-cell responses, antibody titers, and high-parameter cell analysis of the peripheral blood were utilized to investigate the inhibitory effects of immunosuppressants, including rituximab and azathioprine.ResultsA total of 32 patients and 120 healthy controls were enrolled. COVID-19 vaccinations spaced at least six months after the last rituximab infusion did not cause a significant difference in anti-viral T-cell or antibody responses between rituximab-naïve and rituximab-treated patients. All pemphigus patients demonstrated improved antibody responses after the third vaccination and none of them suffered from severe COVID-19 illness. Intriguingly, we found that daily dosages of 100 mg or more of azathioprine were linked to significantly decreased anti-viral T-cell responses induced by the vaccination (mean of fold change [SD]; higher azathioprine dosage = 0.70 [0.61] folds vs. lower azathioprine dosage = 2.11 [1.03] folds; p = 0.044).ConclusionExcept for a subset of patients with unrecovered B-cell deficiency, rituximab infusion with proper scheduling of vaccination preserved better anti-viral T-cell responses and did not lead to hindered antibody responses in pemphigus patients. All pemphigus patients benefited from receiving the third booster regardless of B-cell status.
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