New Clinical Trial Brings Hope at Last for Patients With Pyoderma Gangrenosum  

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an inflammatory skin disorder that causes excruciatingly painful skin ulcerations. It’s supposed to be rare, but it’s only rarely diagnosed.

At any given time, I will have 8 or 10 patients with PG in my practice. Biopsies fail to diagnose it more than 70% of the time, but the patients nearly all have a history of “pathergy,” dramatic worsening after minor trauma, and some have an underlying inflammatory disease. It’s a good bet if you see patients with non-healing wounds, you have at least one and maybe several who have PG.

If any of your wound patients have been diagnosed with pyoderma gangrenosum (or if you think it’s a strong possibility but you’ve gotten the usual “negative” biopsy) there’s hope. Alex Ortega Loayza, MD, MCR, at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon is conducting a clinical research trial to determine the safety and efficacy of baricitinib (Olumiant, Lilly) combined with a prednisone taper for the treatment of PG.

Baricitinib suppresses a pathway of proteins that have been shown to be overabundant in PG lesions, and that play a large role in the chronic inflammation that drives PG. Baricitinib has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat rheumatoid arthritis, a common condition among patients with PG, and one which shares many similarities to the inflammatory profile of PG. Several studies are testing baricitinib’s effectiveness in other chronic skin conditions, but this is the first and only trial testing Baricitinib in PG.

For more information, and to see if you or one of your patient’s will qualify, please contact Morgan Vague at vague@ohsu.edu.

Get this! Patients are reimbursed between $75–175 per visit. Travel reimbursement of up to $650 per visit is available for patients who live outside of Oregon or more than 200 miles from Oregon Health and Science University.

Here’s the patient recruitment flyer. Pass it on!

Are you involved in a clinical trial in wound care? Today’s Wound Clinic wants to hear from you. Email bmccurdy@hmpglobal.com to share your info.
 
Caroline E. Fife is Chief Medical Officer at Intellicure Inc., The Woodlands, TX; executive director of the U.S. Wound Registry and co-chair of the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders. Click here for Dr. Fife’s original blog.

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