April 2013 - update info nsf

Information for Healthcare Professionals and other Stakeholders
NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS:
AN UNCOMMON AND DEBILITATING DISEASE POSSIBLY
ASSOCIATED WITH GADOLINIUM CHELATES
Any significant information (eg publication of results of a new study, results of the investigation of a pharmacovigilance case) may cause the issue of a new version of this document.
What is Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF)?

NSF was first recognized in 1997 in 15 dialyzed patients and described in 2000 (1). This rare and highly debilitating disorder is characterized by extensive thickening and hardening of the skin associated with skin-colored to erythematous papules that coalesce into erythematous to brawny plaques with a “peau d’orange” appearance. Nodules are sometimes also described. Joint contractures may develop, with patients progressively becoming wheelchair-dependent. Patients often complain of pruritus, causalgia and sharp pains (2). The distal extremities are the most common area of involvement (with a distribution from ankles to mid-thighs and from wrists to mid-upper arms), followed by the trunk. The lesions are typically symmetrical. It is worth noting that the face and neck are virtually never involved (3). NSF always occurs in patients with severe or end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) (eGFR < 30 ml/mn/1.73 m2) (1-3), usually in those requiring NSF can occur in all age-groups and there is no predilection for a geographic region, race So far, there is no recognized treatment for NSF. It has been suggested that improving renal function may slow down the development of the disease and, in some cases, may The mechanism of this highly debilitating disease remains unknown. Current literature suggests a multifactorial aetiology (4). So far, several factors have been suggested to be frequently associated with the onset of Recognized or possibly associated factors for NSF
• Severe or end-stage renal failure (1-3) • High cumulative dose of gadolinium chelate (5) • Coexisting pro inflammatory event (major surgery, infection, vascular event) (7) • Metabolic acidosis (8) (debated: 7,9) • History of deep venous thrombosis (10) In 2006, two European teams independently suggested a link between the administration of gadolinium (Gd) chelates used as contrast media for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the occurrence of NSF in patients with renal failure (8,9). Numerous retrospective analyses rapidly followed and confirmed this temporal link (7,11-13). The time to onset of the symptoms ranges between a few days and a few years following exposure to the gadolinium chelate. The majority of published cases occurred within 3 The link between gadolinium-containing contrast media and NSF is considered probable (8, 9, 14, 15, 16) and awareness of this potential adverse reaction to gadolinium chelates is a major requirement for radiologists and specialists in patients with stage 4 and 5 Current Position of European Health Authorities
In February 2007, the European Pharmacovigilance Working Party (PhVWP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) initially advised all contrast media marketing authorization holders to add warnings about the possibility that NSF may occur with gadolinium chelates to section 4.4 of the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). There are two generally recognized categories of gadolinium chelates: macrocyclic molecules where Gd3+ is caged in the pre-organised cavity of the ligand (15), and the linear open chain molecules (15). Gadolinium chelates differ in their thermodynamic stability constants and in their kinetic stability. In general, pre-clinical and ex vivo studies have suggested that macrocyclic molecules are more stable than linear molecules (17-21). In December 2007, the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for Diagnostics of the CHMP (Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use) agreed with the PhVWP that the risk of developing NSF depends on the type of gadolinium-containing contrast agent used, and advised that these agents should be categorized into three groups: • High risk: gadoversetamide (OptiMARK), gadodiamide (Omniscan) and gadopentetic acid (Magnevist, Magnegita, and Gado-MRT-ratiopharm); • Medium risk: gadofosveset (Vasovist), gadoxetic acid (Primovist) and gadobenic acid • Low risk: gadoteric acid (Dotarem), gadoteridol (ProHance) and gadobutrol In November 2008 a referral procedure was triggered in order for the CHMP to carry out an assessment of the risk of NSF for the authorized gadolinium-containing contrast agents, and recommend measures that could be taken to reduce this risk. The final CHMP opinion was issued in November 2009, and was ratified by an European Commission decision in July 2010. The conclusions confirmed the classification of the active substances into the three categories of risk, and the CHMP emitted recommendations for the labelling of the different agents to vary according to their risk The CHMP recommended also that the prescribing information of all gadolinium-containing contrast agents should include a statement that the type and dose of contrast agent used should be recorded; in that view, “sticky labels” removable from the vials and syringes Finally, the CHMP advised that studies should be performed to evaluate the potential of long-term retention of gadolinium in bone. In addition, a cumulative review of NSF cases should be submitted annually for 3 years. The evaluation by the CHMP of the 2012 new cumulative review of the cases regarding gadoteric acid (Dotarem) maintained the classification of the product in the low risk class, and endorsed the causality assessment of the reported cases as provided by Guerbet. Revised contra-indications and precautions for use of gadolinium-containing contrast agents (CHMP 2010)
Risk class
MEDIUM RISK:
HIGH RISK:
Primovist, Vasovist, MultiHance
Omniscan, Optimark, Magnevist
Pregnancy
Not recommended, unless benefit risk ratio assessed as favorable Lactation
Continuation or suspension 24h according to mother’s decision Discontinuation at least 24h
Renal insufficiency (RI), hepatic
To be avoided in severe RI and hepatic
Contra-indication in severe RI and hepatic transplanted
transplantation, dialysis
transplanted patients: minimum diagnostic transplanted patients
patients
If used, minimum diagnostic dose and
Precaution in moderate RI patients, according to
benefit risk ratio, minimum diagnostic dose and
administrations
minimum 7 days between administrations
No evidence supporting the use of haemodialysis for preventing or treating NSF in non-dialyzed patients, Paediatric population
Precaution in neonate, minimum diagnostic dose and minimum 7 days between Contra-indication in neonate < 4 weeks
Precaution in child < 1 year, minimum diagnostic dose and minimum 7 days between administrations Elderly patient
Important to screen patients > 65 years for renal dysfunction Screening of renal function
Recommended laboratory test to screen patients for renal dysfunction Mandatory laboratory test to screen all patients for
renal dysfunction
*In the low and medium risk categories of NSF, DOTAREM provides the largest range of indications for newborns and infants ranging from 0 to 2 years old, for MRI of whole body pathologies as well as for MRI of the brain and spinal
diseases and diseases of the vertebral column**.DOTAREMis not recommended for MR angiography in children under 18 years of age due to insufficient data on the efficacy and safety in this indication. **For more information and because indications may vary from country to country, please refer to your mandatory local SPC.
Current Position of US Health Authorities (FDA)
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted the public about cases of NSF reported in patients who received gadolinium chelates. In 2007, the FDA required the addition of a boxed warning about the risk of NSF to the In December 2009, the safety of gadolinium chelates was reviewed during a Joint Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Following that, in September 2010, the FDA made a Safety Announcement, requiring new changes in the labelling of gadolinium chelates, falling more closely into line with those requested by European Health Authorities. High-risk gadolinium chelates (Optimark, Omniscan, Magnevist) are contraindicated in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) or with chronic severe kidney disease. In addition, the FDA recommended a screening of patients for kidney problems using clinical history and laboratory testing. The use of gadolinium chelates should be avoided in patients having impaired drug elimination, unless this use is necessary; in that case, signs and symptoms of NSF should Administration of gadolinium chelates should not be repeated in a single imaging session. Dotarem has a Marketing Authorization in the USA since March 21, 2013. Guerbet Pharmacovigilance Data
Guerbet markets meglumine gadoterate (Dotarem), a macrocyclic, ionic gadolinium chelate associated with a high thermodynamic and kinetic stability (15-19). The Department of International Pharmacovigilance of Guerbet manages the Adverse Events reported in a context of Dotarem administration in accordance with the regulatory Pharmacovigilance reporting standards; in particular Volume 9A of the Rules Governing Medicinal Products in the European Union - Guidelines on Pharmacovigilance for Medicinal Products for For each case reported as NSF and based on the available information, Guerbet has assessed the strength of the diagnosis of NSF and the causality of Dotarem : the strength of the diagnosis of NSF using the clinicopathological score developed by Yale University (USA) and published by Girardi et al (22) on the basis of their registry of more than 250 cases, and discussing the differential diagnoses of the disease ; Dotarem causality considering the available and missing information regarding the medical history of the patient, in particular renal function, the injection of the sole Dotarem (single- agent case) or other gadolinium chelates (multiple-agent case), the chronology of both the injections and the clinical, biological and imaging events, other possible causative factors such With respect to NSF, Guerbet has registered, to date, 16 medically-confirmed cases of patients who developed signs allowing this diagnosis to be considered and who received Dotarem, for more than 37 million of patients who received the product, and more than 850 cases of NSF reported worldwide (source European Medicines Agency, 2010). On the basis of the available information, the diagnosis of NSF is confirmed or consistent according to the Girardi score in only 1/3 of the reported cases, and the causality of Dotarem is In all cases the administration of Dotarem preceded the first symptoms, except for one patient who developed NSF after injection of linear gadolinium chelates, the disease worsening after she had undergone several Dotarem-enhanced MRA, in a context of degradation of the renal function NSF cases reported for patients having received Dotarem®
(all sources i.e. health care professionals , authorities, literature) Due to missing information the Girardi score score), information sufficient to rule out the cannot be applied and/or the differential 0 Single-agent
5 Multiple-
1 Single-
9 Multiple-
agent cases
qualifiable case*
agent case
agent cases
qualifiable case*
Non qualifiable = unspecified agent received in addition to Dotarem
Position Statement

At Guerbet, we significantly contribute to improving diagnosis for major disease areas
(cardiovascular diseases, cancer, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases). We are strongly committed to providing radiologists, cardiologists and healthcare professionals with a comprehensive range of innovative and effective contrast media to achieve their aim to provide optimum diagnosis for their patients. A complete research programme is in progress at Guerbet and in cooperation with recognized academic centres to better understand the mechanism of NSF and thoroughly study the role of physicochemical properties of gadolinium chelates in its pathogenesis. The research programme includes a prospective clinical analysis of the safety of We are in full collaboration with Health Authorities for Pharmacovigilance issues with total transparency and consistently acting in the best interests of the patients is a fundamental principle at Guerbet. This is particularly true in the case of NSF and will remain so. Further information about NSF and gadolinium chelates

European Medicines Agency (EMA)
European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) http://www.esur.org/Nephrogenic_Fibrosis.39.0.html International Center for Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy Research (ICNFDR) (Yale www.acr.org/./quality_safety/contrast_manual/NephrogenicSystemicFibrosis.asp
References

1. Cowper SE, Robin HS, Steinberg SM, Su LD, Gupta S, LeBoit PE. Scleromyxoedema-like
cutaneous diseases in renal-dialysis patients. Lancet 2000; 356: 1000-1001 2. Cowper SE, Kuo PH, Bucala R. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium exposure: association and lessons for idiopathic fibrosing disorders. Arthritis Rheum 2007; 56: 3173-3175 3. Galan A, Cowper SE, Bucala R. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy). Curr Opin Rheumatol 2006; 18: 614-617 4. Swaminathan S, Shah SV. New insights into nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. J Am Soc Nephrol 5. Marckmann P, Skov L, Rossen K, Heaf JG, Thomsen HS. Case-control study of gadodiamide- related nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2007; 22: 3174-3178 6. Swaminathan S, Ahmed I, McCarthy JT, Albright RC, Pittelkow MR, Caplice NM, Griffin MD, Leung N. Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy and high-dose erythropoietin therapy. Ann Intern Med 7. Sadowski EA, Bennett LK, Chan MR, Wentland AL, Garrett AL, Garrett RW, Djamali A. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: risk factors and incidence estimation. Radiology 2007; 243: 148- 8. Grobner T. Gadolinium: a specific trigger for the development of nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis ? Nephrol Dial Transplant 2006; 21: 1104-1108 9. Marckmann P, Skov L, Rossen K, Dupont A, Damholt MB, Heaf JG, Thomsen HS. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: suspected causative role of gadodiamide used for contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. J Am Soc Nephrol 2006; 17: 2359-2362 10. Kallen AJ, Jhung MA, Cheng S, Hess T, Turabelidze G, Abramova L, Arduino M, Guarner J, Pollack B, Saab G, Patel PR. Gadolinium-containing magnetic resonance imaging contrast and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: a case-control study. Am J Kidney Dis 2008; 51: 966-975 11. Broome DR, Girguis MS, Baron PW, Cottrell AC, Kjellin I, Kirk GA. Gadodiamide-associated nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: why radiologists should be concerned. Am J Roentgenol 2007; 188: 12. Collidge TA, Thomson PC, Mark PB, Traynor JP, Jardine AG, Morris STW, Simpson K, Roditi GH. Gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: retrospective study of a renal replacement therapy cohort. Radiology 2007; 245: 168-175 13. Khurana A, Runge VM, Narayanan M, Greene Jr JF, Nickel AE. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. A review of 6 cases temporally related to gadodiamide injection (Omniscan). Invest Radiol 2007; 14. Abraham JL, Thakral C. Tissue distribution and kinetics of gadolinium and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. Eur J Radiol 2008; 66 : 200-207 15. Morcos SK. Extracellular gadolinium contrast agents: differences in stability. Eur J Radiol. 16. Perazella MA. Rodby RA. Gadolinium use in patients with kidney disease: a cause for concern. Sem Dialysis 2007; vol 20, No 3 (May-June): 179-185 17. Wedeking P, Kumar K, Tweedle MF. Dissociation of gadolinium chelates in mice: relationship to chemical characteristics. Magn Reson Im 1992; 10: 641-648 18. Caravan P, Ellison JJ, McMurry TJ, Lauffer RB. Gadolinium (III) chelates as MRI contrast agents : structure, dynamics, and applications. Chem Rev 1999 ; 99 : 2293-2352 19. Laurent S, Vander Elst L, Copoix F, Muller RN. Stability of MRI paramagnetic contrast media. A proton relaxometric protocol for transmetallation assessment. Invest Radiol 2001; 36: 115-122 20. Laurent S, Vander Elst L, Muller RN. Comparative study of the physicochemical properties of six clinical low molecular weight gadolinium contrast agents. Contrast Med Mol Imaging 2006; 1: 21. Frenzel T, Lengsfeld P, Schirmer H, Hütter J, Weinmann HJ. Stability of gadolinium-based magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents in human serum at 37 degrees C. 22. Girardi M, Kay J, Elston DM et al. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: Clinicopathological definition and workup recommendations. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011,65:1095-1096

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