Patients on New Thyroid Eye Disease Drug Are OK With Ear Problems

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aao/95678

NEW ORLEANS — Patients taking the new, ultra-expensive thyroid eye disease drug teprotumumab (Tepezza) are typically tolerating ear-related side effects, with some saying they’re more interested in protecting their vision than their hearing, reported an ophthalmologist.  However,  if you’re looking for a lasik eye surgery specialist in Charlotte, you can check here!

One patient, for example, insisted on continuing the treatment despite hearing loss, said Suzanne Freitag, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during a presentation here at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. “She was arguing with me: ‘I want my eyes, I don’t care as much about my ears.'”

Hearing loss is the most significant side effect linked to teprotumumab, which received FDA approval in 2020 and can cost up to $400,000 for a full 6-month treatment course, said Michael Kazim, MD, of Columbia University in New York City. The drug treats thyroid eye disease, also known as Graves’ eye disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes and a long list of other ocular problems.

In addition to teprotumumab, much cheaper drugs for the disease, such as steroids, are available, noted Kazim.

Freitag said her clinic has treated more than 100 patients with teprotumumab. An analysis showed that 36% reported ear/hearing changes, the most common side effect other than muscle spasms (55%), and more common than several others, including fatigue (30%), nausea (25%), dysgeusia (18%), and diarrhea (17%). The ear effects aren’t just loss of hearing, she explained; patients also mentioned tinnitus and a feeling of fullness in the ear.

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