Is It Time for Ocrelizumab Extended Interval Dosing in Relapsing Remitting MS? Evidence from An Italian Multicenter Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aurora Zanghì, Carlo Avolio, Elisabetta Signoriello, Gianmarco Abbadessa, Maria Cellerino, Diana Ferraro, Christian Messina, Stefania Barone, Graziella Callari, Elena Tsantes, Patrizia Sola, Paola Valentino, Franco Granella, Francesco Patti, Giacomo Lus, Simona Bonavita, Matilde Inglese, Emanuele D’Amico

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the COVID-19 pandemic era, safety concerns have been raised regarding the risk of severe infection following administration of ocrelizumab (OCR), a B-cell-depleting therapy. We enrolled all relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who received maintenance doses of OCR from January 2020 to June 2021. Data were extracted in December 2021. Standard interval dosing (SID) was defined as a regular maintenance interval of OCR infusion every 6 months, whereas extended interval dosing (EID) was defined as an OCR infusion delay of at least 4 weeks. Three infusions were considered in defining SID vs. EID (infusions A, B, and C). Infusion A was the last infusion before January 2020. The primary study outcome was a comparison of disease activity during the A-C interval, which was defined as either clinical (new relapses) or radiological (new lesions on T1-gadolinium or T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences). Second, we aimed to assess confirmed disability progression (CDP). A total cohort of 278 patients (174 on SID and 104 on EID) was enrolled. Patients who received OCR on EID had a longer disease duration and a higher rate of vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (p < 0.05). EID was associated with an increased risk of MRI activity during the A-C interval (OR 5.373, 95% CI 1.203–24.001, p = 0.028). Being on SID or EID did not influence CDP (V-Cramer 0.47, p = 0.342). EID seemed to be associated with a higher risk of MRI activity in our cohort. EID needs to be carefully considered for OCR-treated patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1535-1545
Number of pages11
JournalNeurotherapeutics
Volume19
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Disease activity
  • Extended interval dosing
  • MRI
  • Ocrelizumab
  • Standard interval dosing

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