Access to cardiac PET/CT by sarcoidosis patients and cost-effectiveness analysis of cardiac PET/MR compared to the standard of care

IMPORTANCE

Cardiac sarcoidosis is associated with a high mortality rate. Given multiple barriers to obtaining cardiac PET imaging, we suspect individuals with access to this imaging modality are not representative of the Sarcoid patient population, which in the United States are predominantly Black females.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the demographics of patients with cardiac PET access and the cost-effectiveness of cardiac PET/MR imaging relative to standard of care.

DESIGN

This is a retrospective, observational study. The demographic information of patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis and cardiac PET/CT imaging within a national registry of sarcoidosis were reviewed (n = 4561). An individual-level, continuous, time-state transition model was used for the evaluation of long-term cost-effectiveness for the combined cardiac PET/MR compared to standard of care cardiac MR followed by cardiac PET/CT.

RESULTS

Patients who underwent cardiac PET in the national registry had 88.35% higher odds of being male (p < 0.001) and 43.82% higher odds of being White (p = 0.003) than their counterparts who did not have cardiac PET imaging. Combined cardiac PET/MR had overall lower total lifetime costs ($8761 vs $10,777) and overall improved expected quality of life-years compared to the standard of care (0.77 vs 0.69).

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE

The findings suggest that patients with access to cardiac PET/CT are not representative of the patient population most likely to have cardiac sarcoidosis in this limited study evaluation. Universal insurance coverage should be considered for Cardiac PET imaging as same day cardiac PET and MR imaging has potential long-term cost and quality of life benefit.

WASOG statement on the diagnosis and management of sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension

Sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension (SAPH) is an important complication of advanced sarcoidosis. Over the past few years, there have been several studies dealing with screening, diagnosis and treatment of SAPH. This includes the results of two large SAPH-specific registries. A task force was established by the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous disease (WASOG) to summarise the current level of knowledge in the area and provide guidance for the management of patients. A group of sarcoidosis and pulmonary hypertension experts participated in this task force. The committee developed a consensus regarding initial screening including who should undergo more specific testing with echocardiogram. Based on the results, the committee agreed upon who should undergo right-heart catheterisation and how to interpret the results. The committee felt there was no specific phenotype of a SAPH patient in whom pulmonary hypertension-specific therapy could be definitively recommended. They recommended that treatment decisions be made jointly with a sarcoidosis and pulmonary hypertension expert. The committee recognised that there were significant defects in the current knowledge regarding SAPH, but felt the statement would be useful in directing future studies.

Sarcoidosis among US Hispanics in a Nationwide Registry

BACKGROUND

Sarcoidosis has been well studied in multiple races and ethnic groups. However, there is a paucity of data that describes sarcoidosis in Hispanics. We aimed to determine the prevalence of Hispanic ethnicity, clinical characteristics and impact of sarcoidosis among Hispanics from a US based national registry.

METHODS

We conducted a national registry-based study investigating 3835 respondents to the Sarcoidosis Advanced Registry for Cures questionnaire. This registry is a web-based, self-reported questionnaire that provides data related to demographics, diagnostics, organ involvement, treatment modalities, and the physical and psychosocial impact of sarcoidosis. We compared Hispanic patients to non-Hispanics. We performed multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, gender, education, income and insurance status and looked at the association between Hispanic ethnicity with depression, chronic pain syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, impact on family finances, employment-based disability and job termination.

RESULTS

Nine percent of the patients reported a Hispanic ethnicity and the majority of these patients self-identified as white women. The most common organs involved were the lungs (74.9%), central lymph nodes (53.8%), and peripheral lymph nodes (37.1%). Hispanics reported more peripheral nerves and peripheral lymph nodes involvement than non-Hispanics. Hispanics experienced more depression, sleep apnea, and chronic pain syndrome than non-Hispanics. The use of mobility assistive devices was more common among Hispanics, as well as employment-based disability, and disease-related job termination compared to non-Hispanics. The majority of Hispanics reported significantly more pain that interfered with the enjoyment of life than non-Hispanics. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, Hispanic ethnicity was associated with depression (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.01-2.2), chronic pain syndrome (aOR = 1.7; 1.1-2.6), job termination due to sarcoidosis (aOR = 1.7; 1.1-2.7) and higher impact on family finances (aOR = 1.7; 1.1-2.5).

CONCLUSION

The clinical presentation of sarcoidosis in Hispanic patients differs from that in non-Hispanic patients living in the United States. These differences should be considered when managing Hispanic patients with sarcoidosis. We encourage more studies that investigate phenotyping among Hispanics with sarcoidosis.

Scout - sarcoidosis outcomes taskforce. A systematic review of outcomes to inform the development of a core outcome set for pulmonary sarcoidosis

Background:

Clinical trials evaluating different management strategies for pulmonary sarcoidosis may measure different outcomes. This heterogeneity in outcomes can lead to waste in research due to the inability to compare and combine data. Core outcome sets (COS) have the potential to address this issue and here we describe a systematic review of outcomes as the first step in the development of a COS for pulmonary sarcoidosis research.

Methods:

A search of clinical trial registries for phase II, III and IV trials of pulmonary sarcoidosis was undertaken along with a rapid review of the patient perspective literature. Each study was screened for eligibility and outcomes extracted verbatim from the registry entry or publication then reviewed, grouped and categorised using the COMET taxonomy.

Results:

36 trial registry entries and 6 studies on patients’ perspective of pulmonary sarcoidosis were included reporting 56 and 82 unique outcomes respectively across 23 domains. The most frequently reported outcome domain was “respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal outcomes”. However, the patients’ perspective literature identified outcomes in the “personal circumstances” and “societal/carer burden” domains that were not reported in any of the included trial registrations.

Conclusions:

Using both clinical trial registry data and published literature on patients’ perspective has allowed rapid review of outcomes measured and reported in pulmonary sarcoidosis research. The use of multiple sources has led to the development of a comprehensive list of outcomes that represents the first step in the development of a COS for use in future pulmonary sarcoidosis research.

Prevalence and characteristics of self-reported hypothyroidism and its association with nonorgan-specific manifestations in US sarcoidosis patients: a nationwide registry study

Little is known about the prevalence, clinical characteristics and impact of hypothyroidism in patients with sarcoidosis. We aimed to determine the prevalence and clinical features of hypothyroidism and its relation to organ involvement and other clinical manifestations in patients with sarcoidosis. We conducted a national registry-based study investigating 3835 respondents to the Sarcoidosis Advanced Registry for Cures Questionnaire between June 2014 and August 2019. This registry is based on a self-reported, web-based questionnaire that provides data related to demographics, diagnostics, sarcoidosis manifestations and treatment. We compared sarcoidosis patients with and without self-reported hypothyroidism. We used multivariable logistic regression and adjusted for potential confounders to determine the association of hypothyroidism with nonorgan-specific manifestations. 14% of the sarcoidosis patients self-reported hypothyroidism and were generally middle-aged white women. Hypothyroid patients had more comorbid conditions and were more likely to have multiorgan sarcoidosis involvement, especially with cutaneous, ocular, joints, liver and lacrimal gland involvement. Self-reported hypothyroidism was associated with depression (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.3, 95% CI 1.01-1.6), antidepressant use (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.7), obesity (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4-2.1), sleep apnoea (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2), chronic fatigue syndrome (aOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-2) and was borderline associated with fibromyalgia (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1-1.8). Physical impairment was more common in patients with hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a frequent comorbidity in sarcoidosis patients that might be a potentially reversible contributor to fatigue, depression and physical impairment in this population. We recommend considering routine screening for hypothyroidism in sarcoidosis patients especially in those with multiorgan sarcoidosis, fatigue and depression.

Risk and outcome of COVID-19 infection in sarcoidosis patients: results of a self-reporting questionnaire

Background:

It has been suggested that sarcoidosis patients, especially those on immunosuppressive medications, are at increased risk for COVID-19 infection and more severe disease.

Methods:

A questionnaire was developed in four languages (English, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish). The questionnaire queried whether patients had been infected with COVID-19 and outcome of the infection. Risk factors for COVID-19 infection were collected.

Results:

A total of 5200 sarcoidosis patients completed the questionnaire with 116 (2.23%) reporting infection and 18 (15.8%) required hospitalization. Increased hazard ratio (HR) for COVID-19 infection were seen for those with a COVID-19 infected roommate (HR=27.44, p<0.0001), health care provider (HR=2.4, p=0.0001), pulmonary sarcoidosis (HR=2.48, p=0.001), neurosarcoidosis (HR=2.02, p<0.01), or rituximab treatment (HR=5.40, p<0.0001). A higher rate of hospitalization was found for those with underlying heart disease (HR=3.19 (1.297-7.855), p<0.02). No other feature including race, other immunosuppressive agent, age, or underlying condition was associated with a significant increased risk for infection or more severe disease.

Conclusion:

The overall rate of COVID-19 was 2.23%, suggesting an increased rate of COVID-19 infection. However, when an analysis of the questionnaires of sarcoidosis and non-sarcoidosis patients was performed in one localized area over this time period, the rate of COVID-19 infection was similar in both groups. Sarcoidosis patients who cohabitated with COVID-19 infected individuals, worked in health care, had pulmonary or neurologic sarcoidosis, or were treated with rituximab had an increased risk for COVID-19 infection. No significant increased risk for hospitalization could be identified based on age, race, gender or any specific immunosuppressive treatment. (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2020; 37 (4): e2020009)