Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40388087›Full record

Observational studyAdvances in therapy2025

Macitentan and Tadalafil Combination Therapy in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Comorbidities: Real-World Evidence from OPUS and OrPHeUS.

Nick H Kim, Kelly M Chin, Vallerie V McLaughlin, Rose Ong, Gwen MacDonald, Nicolas Martin, Assunta Senatore, Richard Channick

Abstract readObservational StudyMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Advances in therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Nick H KimPulmonary Vascular Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9300 Campus Point Dr., La Jolla, CA, MC7381, USA. Kimh33kim@health.ucsd.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4702-650X
Kelly M ChinUT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Vallerie V McLaughlinUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Rose OngGlobal Epidemiology, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, A Johnson & Johnson Company, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Gwen MacDonaldGlobal Medical Affairs, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, A Johnson & Johnson Company, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Nicolas MartinStatistical Decision Science, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, A Johnson & Johnson Company, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Assunta SenatoreGlobal Medical Affairs, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, A Johnson & Johnson Company, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Richard ChannickUniversity of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPatients diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) often present with risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, including diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), and obesity. The 2022 ESC/ERS pulmonary hypertension treatment guidelines recommend initial monotherapy with an endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) or phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE5i) for patients with PAH and cardiopulmonary comorbidities, with treatment escalation to be considered on an individual basis. Data on safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of combination therapy in these patients are lacking.

methodsOPUS (prospective, observational drug registry) and OrPHeUS (retrospective, medical chart review) were multicenter US studies of patients newly initiating the ERA macitentan (2013-2020). Patients in the combined OPUS/OrPHeUS dataset with PAH receiving combination therapy with macitentan and the PDE5i tadalafil were identified. Descriptive analyses were performed for patients with ≥ 1 of DM/HTN/obesity and those without these comorbidities.

resultsIn OPUS/OrPHeUS, 1336 patients with PAH received macitentan plus tadalafil during the observation period. Of these, 820 (61.4%) had ≥ 1 of DM/HTN/obesity and 516 (38.6%) had none of these comorbidities at or before enrollment. Median (Q1, Q3) exposure to macitentan and tadalafil combination therapy was similar at 13.7 (3.5, 28.0) and 14.8 (5.4, 27.4) months, respectively. For patients with ≥ 1 of DM/HTN/obesity versus those without, 1-year Kaplan-Meier estimates (95% confidence limits) for survival were 92.3% (89.9, 94.1) and 91.9% (88.8, 94.1), for patients free from hospitalization were 63.6% (59.6, 67.2) and 60.0% (55.1, 64.5), and for patients persisting on combination therapy were 66.5% (63.1, 69.8) and 68.5% (64.1, 72.4). Adverse events (AE; OPUS only) were reported in 78.4% and 80.0%, respectively, with no unexpected AEs observed. There was a trend towards higher AE incidence with increasing comorbidity number and in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities who were treatment-naïve.

conclusionPatients with PAH and ≥ 1 of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or obesity treated with macitentan and tadalafil combination therapy had similar hospitalization, survival, and safety profiles as those without these comorbidities, though patients with comorbidities initiated on combination therapy and those with multiple comorbidities may require closer monitoring. These real-world data suggest that combination therapy may be considered for patients with PAH and cardiovascular comorbidities.

trial registrationOPsumit CLINICALTRIALS: gov/.

Indexed as

Hypertension, PulmonaryPhosphodiesterase 5 InhibitorsPulmonary Arterial HypertensionPyrimidinesSulfonamidesTadalafilAdultAgedCardiovascular DiseasesComorbidityDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedObesitymacitentanPhosphodiesterase 5 InhibitorsPyrimidinesSulfonamidesTadalafilCardiovascular comorbiditiesCombination therapyHospitalizationMacitentanPulmonary arterial hypertensionReal-world dataSafetySurvivalTadalafil

Identifiers

PMID40388087
PMCPMC12182455

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.