Absence of Pericarditis Recurrence in Rilonacept-Treated Patients With COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: Results From the RHAPSODY Long-term Extension
Antonio Brucato MD , Lucia Trotta MD , Michael Arad MD , Paul C. Cremer MD , Antonella Insalaco MD , Marc Klutstein MD , Martin LeWinter MD , David Lin MD , Sushil A. Luis MBBS, PhD , Yishay Wasserstrum MD , JoAnn Clair PhD, MBA , Sheldon Wang PhD , Allan L. Klein MD , Massimo Imazio MD , John F. Paolini MD, PhD
{"title":"Absence of Pericarditis Recurrence in Rilonacept-Treated Patients With COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: Results From the RHAPSODY Long-term Extension","authors":"Antonio Brucato MD , Lucia Trotta MD , Michael Arad MD , Paul C. Cremer MD , Antonella Insalaco MD , Marc Klutstein MD , Martin LeWinter MD , David Lin MD , Sushil A. Luis MBBS, PhD , Yishay Wasserstrum MD , JoAnn Clair PhD, MBA , Sheldon Wang PhD , Allan L. Klein MD , Massimo Imazio MD , John F. Paolini MD, PhD","doi":"10.1016/j.cjco.2024.02.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Rilonacept inhibits the interleukin-1 pathway, and extended treatment in patients with recurrent pericarditis (RP) reduced recurrence risk by 98% in the phase 3 trial, RHAPSODY long-term extension (LTE). Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 vaccination and/or infection may trigger pericarditis recurrence, and in clinical practice, it is unknown whether to continue rilonacept during SARS-CoV-2 infection. This post-hoc analysis of the RHAPSODY LTE aimed to inform rilonacept management in RP patients vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 or who contract COVID-19.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Analysis was conducted from May 2020 to June 2022. The LTE portion of RHAPSODY LTE enabled up to 24 months of additional open-label rilonacept treatment beyond the pivotal study. Rilonacept efficacy data in preventing pericarditis recurrence were assessed, and concomitant SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and COVID-19 adverse event data were evaluated.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>No pericarditis recurrences were temporally associated with vaccination. Sixteen COVID-19 cases were reported; 10 in 30 unvaccinated or partially vaccinated patients (33%) vs 6 of 44 fully vaccinated patients (14%; <em>P</em> = 0.04). Twelve of 16 patients (75%) were receiving rilonacept at the time of infection, and none experienced pericarditis recurrence. One pericarditis recurrence occurred in the peri-COVID-19 period in 1 of 4 patients who had stopped rilonacept treatment > 4.5 months prior. COVID-19 severity was mild in 13 patients, moderate in 2, and severe in 1.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Full vaccination effectively reduced COVID-19 events in patients treated with rilonacept. Vaccination or COVID-19 during rilonacept treatment did not increase pericarditis recurrence. Continued rilonacept treatment in patients contracting COVID-19 did not worsen disease severity, whereas rilonacept interruption increased pericarditis recurrence, supporting a recommendation for continued rilonacept treatment for RP during vaccination or COVID-19.</p></div><div><h3>ClinicalTrials.gov identifier</h3><p>NCT03737110</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36924,"journal":{"name":"CJC Open","volume":"6 6","pages":"Pages 805-810"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589790X24001306/pdfft?md5=2cd8818dae78fa414f95aa21592fa756&pid=1-s2.0-S2589790X24001306-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"CJC Open","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589790X24001306","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Rilonacept inhibits the interleukin-1 pathway, and extended treatment in patients with recurrent pericarditis (RP) reduced recurrence risk by 98% in the phase 3 trial, RHAPSODY long-term extension (LTE). Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 vaccination and/or infection may trigger pericarditis recurrence, and in clinical practice, it is unknown whether to continue rilonacept during SARS-CoV-2 infection. This post-hoc analysis of the RHAPSODY LTE aimed to inform rilonacept management in RP patients vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 or who contract COVID-19.
Methods
Analysis was conducted from May 2020 to June 2022. The LTE portion of RHAPSODY LTE enabled up to 24 months of additional open-label rilonacept treatment beyond the pivotal study. Rilonacept efficacy data in preventing pericarditis recurrence were assessed, and concomitant SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and COVID-19 adverse event data were evaluated.
Results
No pericarditis recurrences were temporally associated with vaccination. Sixteen COVID-19 cases were reported; 10 in 30 unvaccinated or partially vaccinated patients (33%) vs 6 of 44 fully vaccinated patients (14%; P = 0.04). Twelve of 16 patients (75%) were receiving rilonacept at the time of infection, and none experienced pericarditis recurrence. One pericarditis recurrence occurred in the peri-COVID-19 period in 1 of 4 patients who had stopped rilonacept treatment > 4.5 months prior. COVID-19 severity was mild in 13 patients, moderate in 2, and severe in 1.
Conclusions
Full vaccination effectively reduced COVID-19 events in patients treated with rilonacept. Vaccination or COVID-19 during rilonacept treatment did not increase pericarditis recurrence. Continued rilonacept treatment in patients contracting COVID-19 did not worsen disease severity, whereas rilonacept interruption increased pericarditis recurrence, supporting a recommendation for continued rilonacept treatment for RP during vaccination or COVID-19.