Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and resource implications: the NVP Impact Study

BACKGROUND

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is the most prevalent medical condition associated with pregnancy. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists published its first guidelines for management of NVP in 2016, although many current treatments are off label, with only one recently licensed treatment for NVP in the UK.

AIM

To identify the current practices for NVP management across the patient pathway, and estimate the economic burden to NHS services.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This was an observational, retrospective research study conducted in the Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) health economy area in England.

METHOD

Data were collected from GP practices, local hospital datasets, ambulance services (April 2013-March 2016), and the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset (2006-2016).

RESULTS

Eight GP practices participated in the study. In all, 15.2% of the total pregnant population presented with NVP. Treatment varied significantly between GP practices, and 33.6% of women re-presented to their GP. There was an annual increase in women admitted to hospital for NVP symptoms, with increasing length of stay per admission. Almost half (44.6%) of the calls to 999/111 from women experiencing NVP symptoms resulted in an ambulance dispatch. The annual cost of NVP to this health economy was estimated to be £199 804, which crudely extrapolates to £25 758 731 at UK level. Due to underestimations of costs, the impact to the UK NHS could be up to £62 373 961.

CONCLUSION

There is considerable variation in current management practices for NVP outside of recently published guidelines, and this may result in substantial resource use and avoidable financial impact to the NHS.

Nedosiran in pediatric patients with PH1 and relatively preserved kidney function, a phase 2 study (PHYOX8)

BACKGROUND

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is an autosomal recessive disorder with dysregulated glyoxylate metabolism in the liver. Oxalate over-production leads to renal stones, progressive kidney damage and renal failure, with potentially life-threatening systemic oxalosis. Nedosiran is a synthetic RNA interference therapy, designed to reduce hepatic lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) to decrease oxalate burden in PH.

METHODS

Currently, in the PHYOX8 study (NCT05001269), pediatric participants (2-11 years) with PH1 (N = 15) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 30mL/min/1.73m2 received nedosiran once monthly for 6 months.

RESULTS

Urinary oxalate:creatinine (Uox:Ucr) levels reduced by 64% on average. Mean Uox:Ucr reduction was 52% at day 60 and ˃60% at day 180. At one or more study visits, 93.3% (N = 14) of participants reached Uox:Ucr < 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN), and 53.3% (N = 8) reached ≤ 1.0 × ULN. Median percent change in plasma oxalate (12.0 µmol/L at baseline) to day 180 was -39.23% (n = 10). Average number of kidney stones per participant remained stable, whilst a 10.1% average decrease in summed surface area was observed. Median percent change from baseline in eGFR was 2.5%, indicating preservation of renal function.

CONCLUSIONS

Nedosiran was well tolerated, with only 3 participants experiencing at least one serious adverse event, none considered treatment-related. The incidence of injection site reactions was 6.7% (1/15 participants). In conclusion, nedosiran treatment led to a significant and sustained reduction of Uox levels in children with PH1. These findings support nedosiran treatment in pediatric patients to reduce Uox and shows promise for limiting PH1-related complications.