F Poizeau et al. JAMA Dermatol. Published online September 9, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.2977. Association Between Early Severe Cardiovascular Events and the Initiation of Treatment With the Anti–Interleukin 12/23p40 Antibody Ustekinumab

Methods: “This case-time-control study used data from the French national health insurance database, covering 66 million individuals, on all patients exposed to ustekinumab between April 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016, classified according to their cardiovascular risk level (high- and low-risk strata). The risk period was the 6 months before the SCE, defined as acute coronary syndrome or stroke, and the reference period was the 6 months before the risk period. Statistical analysis was performed from September 20, 2017, to July 6, 2018.”

Key findings:

• Of the 9290 patients exposed to ustekinumab (4847 men [52%]; mean [SD] age, 43 [14] years), 179 experienced SCEs (65 cases of acute coronary syndrome, 68 cases of unstable angina, and 46 cases of stroke).
• Among patients with a high cardiovascular risk, a statisically significant association between initiaton of ustekinumab treatment and SCE occurrence was identified (odds ratio, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.19-14.59).
• Conversely, no statistically significant association was found among patients with a low cardiovascular risk (odds ratio, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.03-3.13).

My take: This study suggests that the initiation of ustekinumab treatment may trigger SCEs among patients at high cardiovascular risk; however, the study conclusions are limited as this was an observational study (not a randomized trial).