Background: OPC-61815, a prodrug of tolvaptan, is an injectable aquaretic drug. This study evaluated the tolerability of OPC-61815 in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) who had difficulty with, or were incapable of, oral intake in a multicenter, uncontrolled, open-label Phase III study.
Methods and results: Forty-five patients were enrolled at 30 Japanese sites. OPC-61815 infusion was administered once daily; the 8 mg initial dose could be increased to 16 mg if the dose escalation criteria were met. Patients were treated for up to 5 days. Thirty-eight patients maintained the 8-mg dose and 7 had a dose increase to 16 mg; 41 completed the trial (34 completed early). One patient had mild hypernatremia. No significant safety concerns were observed with OPC-61815 administration at a starting dose of 8 mg and with dose escalation in accordance with the protocol-specified criteria. Treatment resulted in weight decrease (-3.01 kg); improvement or disappearance rates for other CHF symptoms (including edema, dyspnea, orthopnea, pulmonary congestion, and rales) indicated that treatment was effective. Urine excretion was increased 0-1 h after OPC-61815 administration and reached a maximum level at 1-2 h.
Conclusions: The tolerability of once daily (up to 5 days) intravenous OPC-61815 (8 mg or 16 mg) was confirmed in patients with CHF who had difficulty with, or were incapable of, oral intake.
BackgroundThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants of concern (VOCs) have repeatedly and independently arisen. VOCs are characterised by increased transmissibility, increased virulence or reduced neutralisation by antibodies obtained from prior infection or vaccination. Tracking the introduction and transmission of VOCs relies on sequencing, typically whole genome sequencing of clinical samples. Wastewater surveillance is increasingly used to track the introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants through sequencing approaches.AimHere, we adapt and apply a rapid, high-throughput method for detection and quantification of the relative frequency of two deletions characteristic of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma VOCs in wastewater.MethodsWe developed drop-off RT-dPCR assays and an associated statistical approach implemented in the R package WWdPCR to analyse temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 signature mutations (spike Δ69-70 and ORF1a Δ3675-3677) in wastewater and quantify transmission fitness advantage of the Alpha VOC.ResultsBased on analysis of Zurich wastewater samples, the estimated transmission fitness advantage of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha based on the spike Δ69-70 was 0.34 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.30-0.39) and based on ORF1a Δ3675-3677 was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.49-0.57), aligning with the transmission fitness advantage of Alpha estimated by clinical sample sequencing in the surrounding canton of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.38-0.61).ConclusionDigital PCR assays targeting signature mutations in wastewater offer near real-time monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs and potentially earlier detection and inference on transmission fitness advantage than clinical sequencing.