International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis clinical practice guideline for treatment of congenital hemophilia A and B based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology

Hemophilia is a rare congenital bleeding disorder that results from

complete or partial deficiency of blood coagulation factor (F)VIII (hemophilia A) or FIX

(hemophilia B) due to pathogenic variants in their coding genes. Hemophilia requires

complex management. To date, there is no evidence-based clinical practice guideline on

hemophilia treatment based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development,

and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

This evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the International Society

on Thrombosis and Haemostasis aims to provide an overview of evidence and

support patients, caregivers, hematologists, pediatricians, other clinicians, researchers,

and stakeholders in treatment decisions about congenital hemophilia A and B.

The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis formed a multidisciplinary

guideline panel of physicians and patients with global representation,

balanced to minimize potential bias from conflicts of interest. The panel prioritized a set

of clinical questions and outcomes according to their importance for clinicians and

patients. A methodological team supported the guideline development process,

including searching for evidence and performing systematic reviews. The GRADE

approach was used, including GRADE Evidence to Decision frameworks. The recommendations

were subject to public comment.

The panel selected 13 questions, of which 11 addressed the treatment of

hemophilia A and 2 the treatment of hemophilia B. Specifically, the panel addressed

questions on prophylactic and episodic treatment with FVIII concentrates, bypassing

agents, and nonfactor therapy (emicizumab) for hemophilia A (with and without inhibitors)

as well as immune tolerance induction for hemophilia A. For hemophilia B, the

panel addressed questions on prophylactic and episodic treatment of bleeding events

with FIX concentrates. Agreement was reached for all 13 recommendations, of which 7

(54%) were based on evidence from randomized clinical trials, 3 (23%) on observational

studies, and 3 (23%) on indirect comparisons.

Conclusion: Strong recommendations were issued for prophylactic over episodic

treatment for severe and moderately severe hemophilia A and B. Only conditional

recommendations were issued for the remaining questions. Future research should

focus on direct treatment comparisons and the treatment of hemophilia B with and

without inhibitors. Future updates of this guideline will provide an updated evidence

synthesis on the current questions and focus on new FVIII and FIX concentrates, novel

nonfactor therapies, and gene therapy for severe and nonsevere hemophilia A and B.

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Site / Data. J Thromb Haemost 2024 Sep;22(9):2629-2652.

Title    Linee guida per la pratica clinica della Società Internazionale sulla Trombosi e l’Emostasi per il trattamento dell’emofilia congenita A e B basate sulla metodologia di valutazione, sviluppo e valutazione della classificazione delle raccomandazioni

Authors Suely M. Rezende et al.