Pulmonary hypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus

Pulmonary hypertension in connective tissue diseases: What every CTD specialist should know - but is afraid to ask!

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a possible complication of connective tissue diseases (CTDs), especially systemic sclerosis (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). It is defined by an elevation of the mean pulmonary arterial pressure above 20mmHg documented during a right heart catheterization (RHC). Due to their multiorgan involvement, CTDs can induce PH by several mechanisms, that are sometimes intricated: pulmonary vasculopathy (group 1) affecting arterioles (pulmonary arterial hypertension, PAH) and possibly venules (pulmonary veno-occlusive-like disease), left-heart disease (group 2), chronic lung disease (group 3) and/or chronic thromboembolic PH (group 4). PH suspicion is often raised by clinical manifestations (dyspnea, fatigue), echocardiographic data (increased peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity), isolated decrease in DLCO in pulmonary function tests, and/or unexplained elevation of BNP/NT-proBNP. Its formal diagnosis always requires a hemodynamic confirmation by RHC. Strategies for PH screening and RHC referral have been extensively investigated for SSc-PAH but data are lacking in other CTDs. Therapeutic management of PH depends of the underlying mechanism(s): PAH-approved therapies in group 1 PH (with possible use of immunosuppressants, especially in case of SLE or MCTD); management of an underlying left-heart disease in group 2 PH; management of an underlying chronic lung disease in group 3 PH; anticoagulation, pulmonary endartectomy, PAH-approved therapies and/or balloon pulmonary angioplasty in group 4 PH. Regular follow-up is mandatory in all CTD-PH patients.

Total iron binding capacity: an independent predictor of prognosis for pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the role of parameters of iron metabolism in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

METHOD

This was a prospective observational study recruiting patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SLE-PAH). Patients with other factors that might lead to PAH were excluded from the study. All patients were assessed for PAH every 1-3 months and were followed up for 6 months. The primary outcome was considered improved if the grade of risk stratification declined at the endpoint; otherwise, it was considered unimproved.

RESULTS

In total, 29 patients with SLE-PAH were included in this study. The mean of serum ferritin was higher than normal, and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) decreased in 48% of patients. Correlation analyses showed that serum iron (SI) was negatively correlated with World Health Organization functional class (WHO-FC) (r = -0.409, p = 0.028), and positively correlated with Six-Minute Walk Test distance (6MWD) (r = 0.427, p = 0.021) and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (r = 0.388, p = 0.037). Primary outcomes improved in 12 patients at the endpoint, and univariate logistic regression analyses indicated that TIBC was associated with improved primary outcomes in patients with SLE-PAH (odds ratio 12.00, 95% confidence interval 1.90-75.72).

CONCLUSION

SI was negatively correlated with WHO-FC, and positively correlated with 6MWD and TAPSE. Furthermore, TIBC was associated with improved outcomes of patients with SLE-PAH, which could be an independent predictor of prognosis. Further research is needed to verify the findings.

Treatment of autoimmunity: The impact of disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis and comorbid autoimmune disorders

More than 10 disease-modifying therapies (DMT) are approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and new therapeutic options are on the horizon. Due to different underlying therapeutic mechanisms, a more individualized selection of DMTs in MS is possible, taking into account the patient's current situation. Therefore, concomitant treatment of various comorbid conditions, including autoimmune mediated disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, should be considered in MS patients. Because the pathomechanisms of autoimmunity partially overlap, DMT could also treat concomitant inflammatory diseases and simplify the patient's treatment. In contrast, the exacerbation and even new occurrence of several autoimmune diseases have been reported as a result of immunomodulatory treatment of MS. To simplify treatment and avoid disease exacerbation, knowledge of the beneficial and adverse effects of DMT in other autoimmune disorders is critical. Therefore, we conducted a literature search and described the beneficial and adverse effects of approved and currently studied DMT in a large number of comorbid autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, cutaneous disorders including psoriasis, Sjögren´s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic vasculitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and ocular autoimmune disorders. Our review aims to facilitate the selection of an appropriate DMT in patients with MS and comorbid autoimmune diseases.

Therapeutic Challenges And Advances In The Management Of Systemic Sclerosis-Related Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (SSc-PAH)

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disorder with multi-organ involvement. SSc-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the SSc population. With advances in our understanding of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) diagnosis and treatment, outcomes for all PAH patients have significantly improved. While SSc-PAH patients have also benefited from these advances, significant challenges remain. Diagnosis of PAH is a challenging endeavor in SSc patients who often have many co-existing pulmonary and cardiac comorbidities. Given the significantly elevated prevalence and lifetime risk of PAH in the SSc population, screening for SSc-PAH is a critically useful strategy. Treatment with pulmonary arterial (PA) vasodilators has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the survival and quality of life of PAH patients. While therapy with PA vasodilators is beneficial in SSc-PAH patients, therapy effects appear to be attenuated when compared to responses in patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH). This review attempts to chronicle and summarize the advances in our understanding of the optimal screening strategies to identify PAH in patients with SSc. The article also reviews the advances in the therapeutic and risk stratification strategies for SSc-PAH patients.

Pulmonary manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren syndrome are chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorders that can present with multiorgan involvement including the lungs. This review will focus on recent literature pertaining to the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and diagnosis and management of SLE and Sjögren syndrome-associated pulmonary conditions.

RECENT FINDINGS

Pulmonary manifestations of both disease entities have been well characterized and lung involvement can be observed during the course of the disease in most cases. Pulmonary manifestations of SLE and Sjögren syndrome can be classified based on anatomical site of involvement; and the large and small airways, lung parenchyma, lung vasculature, pleura and respiratory muscles can be involved. The pleura is most commonly involved in SLE, whereas the airways are most commonly involved in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Sleep disturbances have also been described in both entities.

SUMMARY

Although further research into treatment strategies for the pulmonary complications seen in SLE and pSS is needed, the clinician should be aware of the risk factors and clinical presentation of the various pulmonary complications in SLE and pSS in order to identify patients who should be screened and/or have modifications in treatment strategies to mitigate the morbidity and mortality associated with these complications.

Incidence and survival impact of pulmonary arterial hypertension among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a nationwide cohort study

Background

No population-based study has investigated the cumulative incidence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or the survival impact of PAH in this population.

Method

We used a nationwide database in Taiwan and enrolled incident SLE patients between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2013. The cumulative incidence of PAH in the SLE patients and the survival of these patients were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Potential predictors of the development of PAH were determined using a Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results

Of 15,783 SLE patients, 336 (2.13%) developed PAH. The average interval from SLE diagnosis to PAH diagnosis was 3.66 years (standard deviation [SD] 3.36, range 0.1 to 13.0 years). Seventy percent of the patients developed PAH within 5 years after SLE onset. The 3- and 5-year cumulative incidence of PAH were 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively. Systemic hypertension was an independent predictor of PAH occurrence among the SLE patients (adjusted hazard ratio 2.27, 95% confidence interval 1.59–2.97). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of SLE patients following the diagnosis of PAH were 87.7%, 76.8%, and 70.1%, respectively.

Conclusions

PAH is a rare complication of SLE and the majority of PAH cases occur within the first 5 years following SLE diagnosis. Systemic hypertension may be a risk factor for PAH development in the SLE population. The overall 5-year survival rate after PAH diagnosis was 70.1%.

Factors associated with development and mortality of pulmonary hypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Objectives

This study aims to identify the factors associated with the development and mortality of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.

Methods

We conducted a prospective study of SLE patients in a single tertiary center. PH was defined as a systolic pulmonary arterial pressure ≥30 mmHg on transthoracic echocardiography. We assessed potential associated factors contributing to the development and mortality of PH in SLE patients.

Results

Of 1110 patients with SLE, 48 patients were identified to have PH. Multivariable analysis indicated that pleuritis or pericarditis (odds ratio (OR) = 4.62), anti-RNP antibody (OR = 2.42), interstitial lung disease (ILD) (OR = 8.34) and cerebro-cardiovascular disease (OR = 13.37) were independently associated with the development of PH in SLE. Subgroup analysis among patients with PH demonstrated that there were no statistically significant factors associated with PH mortality in SLE.

Conclusions

The prevalence of PH was 4.3% in our cohort. There were significant associations with pleuritis or pericarditis, anti-RNP antibody, ILD, and cerebro-cardiovascular disease in SLE, which may contribute to the development of PH. However, there were no statistically significant factors associated with PH mortality in SLE.

Selexipag for the treatment of connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension

Patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH-CTD) have a poor prognosis compared with other aetiologies. The underlying CTD can influence treatment response and outcomes. We characterised the GRIPHON study PAH-CTD subgroup and evaluated response to selexipag.

Of 334 patients with PAH-CTD, PAH was associated with systemic sclerosis (PAH-SSc) in 170, systemic lupus erythematosus (PAH-SLE) in 82 and mixed CTD/CTD-other in 82. For the primary composite endpoint of morbidity/mortality, hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models.

Compared with the overall GRIPHON population, the CTD subgroup was slightly older with a greater proportion of females and shorter time since diagnosis. Patients with PAH-SSc appeared to be more impaired at baseline, with a more progressive disease course. The converse was observed for PAH-SLE. Selexipag reduced the risk of composite morbidity/mortality events in patients with PAH-CTD by 41% (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.41–0.85). Treatment effect was consistent irrespective of baseline PAH therapy or CTD subtype (interaction p=0.87 and 0.89, respectively). Adverse events were predominately prostacyclin-related and known for selexipag treatment.

GRIPHON has allowed the comprehensive characterisation of patients with PAH-CTD. Selexipag delayed progression of PAH and was well-tolerated among PAH-CTD patients, including those with PAH-SSc and PAH-SLE.

Selexipag delays disease progression and is well tolerated in PAH-CTD, irrespective of subtype or other PAH therapyhttp://ow.ly/SvIV30cqo9J

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: Data from the French pulmonary hypertension registry and review of the literature

Occurrence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) without extensive interstitial lung disease (ILD) has rarely been described in the medical literature. This study aimed to report all cases with association of PAH and IIM in the French Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) Registry, to identify IIM features associated with the presence of PAH, and to describe treatment modalities of these patients.All cases of IIM-PAH were retrieved from the French PH Registry, which gathers PH patients prospectively enrolled by 27 referral hospital centers across France. Patients were excluded if they had an extensive ILD or overlap syndrome. Characteristics of IIM-PAH patients were compared with a control group of IIM patients without PH.Among the 5223 PH patients in the Registry, 34 had a diagnosis of IIM. Among them, 3 IIM-PAH patients (2 females and 1 male) had no evidence of extensive ILD or overlap syndrome, and were included in this study. In these 3 patients, dermatomyositis (DM) was the only identified IIM. One patient had autoantibodies classically associated with IIM (anti-Ku). PAH had always developed after IIM onset, was severe in all cases, and led to a marked functional impairment.By pooling our cases with 6 patients previously reported in the literature, and comparing them with a control cohort of 35 IIM patients without PH, we identify several IIM characteristics possibly associated with PAH occurrence, including DM subtype (78% vs 46%; P = 0.02), skin involvement (P = 0.04), anti-SSA antibodies (P = 0.05), and peripheral microangiopathy (P = 0.06).Overall, IIM-PAH patients were managed by corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressants, either alone or combined with PAH therapy. Patients did not seem to respond to IIM treatment alone.Our study reports for the first time the rare but possible association of PAH and IIM in a large prospective PH Registry. In that setting, PAH seems associated with DM, skin involvement, peripheral microangiopathy, and anti-SSA positivity. The best therapeutic strategy for IIM-PAH remains to be defined.

Pulmonary hypertension in polymyositis

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is relatively common in connective tissue diseases. However, few studies have focused on the pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with polymyositis (PM). Our aim is to investigate the prevalence of PH and determine the associated factors for PH in patients with PM. Multicenter study of 61 patients with PM underwent evaluation including general information, physical examination, laboratory indictors, thoracic high-resolution CT (HRCT) imaging, and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). TTE was performed to estimate the pulmonary arterial pressure. PH was defined as resting systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) ≥40 mmHg. PH was identified in ten patients (16.39 %) who had few cardiopulmonary symptoms. PM patients with PH had higher prevalence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and pericardial effusion (PE) compared with patients without PH (18 vs. 11.5 %, p = 0.005; 11.5 vs. 9.8 %, p = 0.004; respectively). After controlling for age, gender, and potential factors, ILD and PE were independently associated with PH in patients with PM in multivariate analysis (OR = 8.193, 95 % CI 1.241-54.084, p = 0.029; OR = 8.265, 95 % CI 1.298-52.084, p = 0.025; respectively). Depending on TTE, the possible prevalence of PH was 16.39 % in patients with PM. Both ILD and PE may contribute to the development of PH in PM.

Connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension

Although rare in its idiopathic form, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is not uncommon in association with various associated medical conditions, most notably connective tissue disease (CTD). In particular, it develops in approximately 10% of patients with systemic sclerosis and so these patients are increasingly screened to enable early detection. The response of patients with systemic sclerosis to PAH-specific therapy appears to be worse than in other forms of PAH. Survival in systemic sclerosis-associated PAH is inferior to that observed in idiopathic PAH. Potential reasons for this include differences in age, the nature of the underlying pulmonary vasculopathy and the ability of the right ventricle to cope with increased afterload between patients with systemic sclerosis-associated PAH and idiopathic PAH, while coexisting cardiac and pulmonary disease is common in systemic sclerosis-associated PAH. Other forms of connective tissue-associated PAH have been less well studied, however PAH associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has a better prognosis than systemic sclerosis-associated PAH and likely responds to immunosuppression.