Incidence of Conjunctivitis and Keratitis Among Individuals with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis Treated with Dupilumab in the United States: a Cohort Study in Routine Care Based on Healthcare Claims
摘要
In clinical trials of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), conjunctivitis and keratitis occurred more frequently with dupilumab than placebo. Studies using real-world data have also shown a higher incidence with dupilumab but did not use validated algorithms to identify the population and outcomes. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of conjunctivitis and keratitis among patients with moderate-to-severe AD treated with dupilumab relative to dupilumab-naïve patients in a real-world setting using validated algorithms.
MethodsA retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in an insurance claims database using validated algorithms for moderate-to-severe AD and ocular outcomes. Initiators of dupilumab were identified and propensity score (PS) matched with dupilumab-naïve patients with moderate-to-severe AD. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for conjunctivitis and keratitis during follow-up were estimated using Poisson regression.
ResultsAmong 13,790 patients in the moderate-to-severe AD study population, 2175 dupilumab initiators and 2189 dupilumab-naïve patients were included in the analysis. Dupilumab was associated with an increased risk of conjunctivitis (IRR = 1.86 [95% CI 1.51–2.30]) and keratitis (IRR = 4.06 [95% CI 1.70–9.68]) compared to patients with moderate-to-severe AD not receiving dupilumab. The cumulative 1-year risk of conjunctivitis was 15.8% and 8.4% in the dupilumab and dupilumab-naïve cohorts, respectively; the cumulative 1-year risk of keratitis was 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
ConclusionStudy findings are consistent with safety data from clinical trials and existing literature. However, a few keratitis events were observed, and post hoc analyses suggested residual confounding might be present. The known benefit-risk profile for dupilumab remains unchanged.