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The efficacy and safety of caplacizumab in individuals with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) have been established in the phase 2 TITAN and phase 3 HERCULES trials. Integrated analysis of data from both trials was conducted to increase statistical power for assessing treatment differences in efficacy and safety outcomes. Caplacizumab was associated with a significant reduction in the number of deaths (0 vs 4; P < .05) and a significantly lower incidence of refractory TTP (0 vs 8; P < .05) vs placebo during the treatment period. Consistent with the individual trials, treatment with caplacizumab resulted in a faster time to platelet count response (hazard ratio, 1.65; P < .001), a 72.6% reduction in the proportion of patients with the composite end point of TTP-related death, rip exacerbation, or occurrence of at least 1 treatment-emergent major thromboembolic event during the treatment period (13.0% vs 47.3%; P < .001), and a 33.3% reduction in the median number of therapeutic plasma exchange days (5.0 vs 7.5 days) vs placebo. No new safety signals were identified; mild mucocutaneous bleeding was the main safety finding. This integrated analysis provided new evidence that caplacizumab prevents mortality and refractory disease in acquired UP and strengthened individual trial findings, with a confirmed favorable safety and tolerability profile. These trials were registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01151423 and #NCT02553317.

Immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a potentially fatal thrombotic microangiopathy caused by autoantibody-mediated severe deficiency of ADAMTS13. Standardized definitions of response, exacerbation, remission and relapse were initially proposed in 2003 and modified by the International Working Group (IWG) for TTP in 2017. These definitions, which have been widely used in clinical practice and research, are based primarily on the platelet count and are benchmarked against the timing of discontinuation of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). They do not incorporate ADAMTS13 activity or the temporizing effects of caplacizumab, a novel anti-von Willebrand factor (VWF) nanobody, on the platelet count. In light of these limitations, the IWG aimed to develop revised consensus outcome definitions that incorporate ADAMTS13 activity and the effects of anti-VWF therapy using an estimate-talk-estimate approach. The updated definitions distinguish clinical remission and clinical relapse (defined primarily by platelet count) from ADAMTS13 remission and ADAMTS13 relapse (defined by ADAMTS13 activity). The revised definitions of exacerbation and remission are benchmarked against not only the timing of discontinuation of TPE, but also of anti-VWF therapy. Retrospective validation of the revised definitions is described, though they remain to be prospectively validated. Clinical implications of the updated outcome definitions are also discussed and an example of their application to clinical practice is provided in order to highlight their clinical relevance.

Background Acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) is a rare, life-threatening autoimmune thrombotic microangiopathy. Caplacizumab, an anti-von Willebrand Factor Nanobody (R), is effective for treating aTTP episodes and is well tolerated. Objectives and methods In the phase 3 HERCULES trial (NCT02553317), patients with aTTP received double-blind caplacizumab or placebo during daily therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and for >= 30 days thereafter. Patients who experienced an exacerbation while on blinded study drug treatment switched to receive open-label caplacizumab plus re-initiation of daily TPE. Exacerbations were defined as recurrence of disease occurring within 30 days after cessation of daily TPE. Results Thirty-one patients (placebo, n = 28; caplacizumab, n = 3) had an exacerbation during double-blind treatment. Twenty-eight patients switched to open-label caplacizumab (placebo, n = 26; caplacizumab, n = 2); the three others discontinued upon exacerbation. Median time to platelet count response (>= 150 x 10(9)/L) was 3.49 days upon receiving caplacizumab. There were no deaths. During open-label treatment, further exacerbation or a major thromboembolic event (vena cava thrombosis) was experienced by one patient (3.6%) each. Consistent with the double-blind phase, the most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events were catheter site hemorrhage (28.6%), headache (21.4%), and epistaxis (17.9%). Conclusions These results suggest that caplacizumab was efficacious and well tolerated in patients with aTTP who experienced a disease exacerbation during double-blind treatment in HERCULES.

BACKGROUND In acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), an immune-mediated deficiency of the von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease ADAMTS13 allows unrestrained adhesion of von Willebrand factor multimers to platelets and microthrombosis, which result in thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, and tissue ischemia. Caplacizumab, an anti-von Willebrand factor humanized, bivalent variable-domain-only immunoglobulin fragment, inhibits interaction between von Willebrand factor multimers and platelets. METHODS In this double-blind, controlled trial, we randomly assigned 145 patients with TTP to receive caplacizumab (10-mg intravenous loading bolus, followed by 10 mg daily subcutaneously) or placebo during plasma exchange and for 30 days thereafter. The primary outcome was the time to normalization of the platelet count, with discontinuation of daily plasma exchange within 5 days thereafter. Key secondary outcomes included a composite of TTP-related death, recurrence of TTP, or a thromboembolic event during the trial treatment period; recurrence of TTP at any time during the trial; refractory TTP; and normalization of organ-damage markers. RESULTS The median time to normalization of the platelet count was shorter with caplacizumab than with placebo (2.69 days [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.89 to 2.83] vs. 2.88 days [95% CI, 2.68 to 3.56], P = 0.01), and patients who received caplacizumab were 1.55 times as likely to have a normalization of the platelet count as those who received placebo. The percentage of patients with a composite outcome event was 74% lower with caplacizumab than with placebo (12% vs. 49%, P

Anhand eines Fallberichtes werden Nebenwirkungen der oralen Antikoagulation mit Coumarin-Derivaten diskutiert, wobei besonders auf das seltene Krankheitsbild der Coumarin-induzierten Hepatitis eingegangen wird. Wie alle medikamentös-induzierten Hepatitiden ist auch die Coumarin-induzierte Hepatitis eine Ausschlußdiagnose, muß aber beim antikoagulierten Patienten in die differentialdiagnostischen Überlegungen miteinbezogen werden.