| Literature DB >> 34552181 |
Ashwin Kamath1, Sahana D Acharya2, Rashmi R Rao2, Sheetal D Ullal2.
Abstract
Tocilizumab (TCZ) is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other systemic inflammatory disorders. There is some evidence suggesting the occurrence of pancreatitis following TCZ use. We aimed to determine the reporting of pancreatitis following TCZ use in comparison with other drugs using the United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. We extracted adverse event reports submitted to FAERS during 2013-2019. A reporting odds ratio (ROR) with the lower bound 95% confidence interval (CI) > 1 and a lower limit of a two-sided 95% interval of information component (IC025) more than zero was considered significant. Following deduplication, 3,383,910 adverse event reports were available; 144 (0.004%) reports were of pancreatic adverse events associated with TCZ use, and 15,907 (0.47%) associated with other drugs. Of the 144 cases, 74 (51.39%) received concomitant medications with pancreatotoxic potential. The likelihood of reporting of pancreatic events, compared with any other adverse event, with TCZ use was 1.32 times higher than that with other drugs. The lower bound of the 95% CI of the ROR and IC remained above the criteria of significance throughout the study period, except 2013. The findings suggest disproportionately high reporting of pancreatitis in patients receiving TCZ as compared with other drugs. This marginally high reporting is not likely to be of immediate clinical concern and needs to be interpreted cautiously.Entities:
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Year: 2021 PMID: 34552181 PMCID: PMC8458491 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98325-w
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Sci Rep ISSN: 2045-2322 Impact factor: 4.379
Characteristics of cases with pancreatic adverse events following tocilizumab use.
| Characteristics | Value |
|---|---|
| All | 56 (45.75–66.50) |
| Male | 56 (43–70) |
| Female | 56.5 (48.50–66.50) |
| Male | 47 (32.64) |
| Female | 76 (52.78) |
| Not specified | 21 (14.58) |
| Died | 14 (9.72) |
| Hospitalized | 85 (59.03) |
| Life threatening | 2 (1.39) |
| Other outcomes | 43 (29.86) |
| Pancreatitis | 90 (62.50) |
| Pancreatitis acute | 35 (24.31) |
| Pancreatic toxicity | 8 (5.56) |
| Pancreatic failure | 6 (4.17) |
| Pancreatic necrotising | 5 (3.47) |
| Pancreatic necrosis | 1 (0.69 |
| Pancreatitis haemorrhagic | 1 (0.69) |
| Pancreatolithiasis | 1 (0.69) |
| United States | 27 (18.75) |
| Canada | 23 (15.97) |
| Germany | 25 (17.36) |
| France | 19 (13.19) |
| Japan | 10 (6.94) |
| United Kingdom | 8 (5.56) |
| Others | 32 (22.22) |
| Tocilizumab only | 37 (25.69) |
| Tocilizumab + other drugs | 107 (74.31) |
| Tocilizumab + other pancreatotoxic drugs | 74 (51.39) |
aTotal count exceeds 144 since three reports contained two adverse event terms each.
Concomitant drugs with potential to cause pancreatitis received by patients with tocilizumab-associated pancreatic adverse events[20].
| Class Ia | Class Ib | Class II | Class III | Class IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codeine | Azathioprine | Acetaminophen | Alendronate | Cyclophosphamide |
| Enalapril | Dexamethasone | Asparaginase | Atorvastatin | Diclofenac |
| Furosemide | Ethinyl estradiol | Propofol | Ceftriaxone | Ketoprofen |
| Mesalamine | Losartan | Cyclosporine | Lovastatin | |
| Metronidazole | Mercaptopurine | Hydrochlorothiazide | Ramipril | |
| Simvastatin | Omeprazole | Indomethacin | Ritonavir | |
| Valproic acid | Conjugated estrogens | Lisinopril | Rosuvastatin | |
| Cotrimoxazole | Metformin | Tacrolimus | ||
| Naproxen | ||||
| Prednisone | ||||
| Prednisolone |
The drugs have been listed in a particular class based on the classification of drugs causing acute pancreatitis suggested by Badalov et al.[20], which is based on the level of evidence available.
Disproportionality analysis for pancreatitis associated with tocilizumab use.
| MedDRA term (notation) | ROR | 95% CI | IC | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pancreatitis [all terms] | 1.32 | 1.12–1.56a | 0.39 | 0.12–0.59a |
| Pancreatitis (10033645) | 1.38 | 1.12–1.70a | 0.45 | 0.11–0.71a |
| Pancreatitis acute (10033647) | 0.93 | 0.66–1.29 | − 0.11 | − 0.67 to 0.29 |
| Pancreatic toxicity (10076205) | 53.06 | 23.62–119.18a | 3.59 | 2.38–4.40a |
| Pancreatic failure (10079281) | 5.72 | 2.53–12.94a | 2.04 | 0.62–2.95a |
| Pancreatitis necrotising (10033654) | 1.78 | 0.74–4.31 | 0.73 | − 0.83 to 1.71 |
CI confidence interval, IC information component, MedDRA medical dictionary for regulatory activities, ROR reporting odds ratio.
aStatistically significant.
Year-wise disproportionality analysis for pancreatitis associated with tocilizumab use.
| Year | Number of cases | ROR | 95% CI | IC | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 19 | 1.64 | 1.04–2.59a | 0.68 | − 0.09 to 1.24 |
| 2014 | 16 | 1.70 | 1.04–2.79a | 0.73 | − 0.12 to 1.33 |
| 2015 | 18 | 1.76 | 1.10–2.80a | 0.77 | − 0.02 to 1.35 |
| 2016 | 23 | 1.83 | 1.21–2.77a | 0.84 | 0.14–1.35a |
| 2017 | 21 | 1.28 | 0.83–1.96 | 0.34 | − 0.39 to 0.87 |
| 2018 | 31 | 1.49 | 1.04–2.12a | 0.55 | − 0.05 to 0.99 |
| 2019 | 16 | 0.64 | 0.39–1.04 | − 0.63 | − 1.47 to − 0.02 |
CI confidence interval, IC information component, ROR reporting odds ratio.
aStatistically significant.
Figure 1Cumulative change in the reporting odds ratio (ROR) (a) and information component (IC) (b) values for suspected tocilizumab-induced pancreatitis reported to United States food and drug administration adverse event database from 2013 to 2019.