SUMMARY BackgroundVedolizumab (VDZ) is a humanised monoclonal IgG1 antibody targeting a 4 b 7 integrin.

Background Livedoid vasculopathy (LV) is a rare cutaneous thrombotic disease. It is characterized by occlusion of dermal vessels resulting in livedo racemosa, ulceration and atrophie blanche. Clear guidelines for diagnosis and treatment are missing. Objective The purpose of this study was to better characterize epidemiology, clinical appearance and treatment reality of LV in a well‐defined patient cohort. Methods The cohort was allocated within a prospective, multicentre, phase IIa trial that investigated the effect of rivaroxaban in LV. Results Analysis of 27 patients revealed that LV patients had an increased Body Mass Index (BMI; 11/27), hypertension (19/27) and increased levels of lipoprotein (a) (5/12) and homocysteine (10/12) in the blood. The female‐to‐male ratio was 2.1 : 1, and the median age was 53.0 years [interquartile range (IQR) 40.5–68]. Investigation of the clinical appearance found that 82% of patients had livedo racemosa, and the ankle region was most likely to be affected by ulceration (56–70%). The analysis of patient treatment history showed that heparin was most effective (12/17), while anti‐inflammatory regimens were, although often used (17/24), not effective (0/17). Conclusion We add clinical clues for a data supported diagnosis of LV, and we provide evidence that anticoagulants should be administered in monotherapy first line (EudraCT number 2012‐000108‐13‐DE).

In the ITT (n=424) analysis, percentages of responders for the primary endpoint were verum 65% (95% CI 56-74%) (n=100), sham 24% (95% CI 9-39%) (n=32), and COT 37% (95% CI 24-50%) (n=50); secondary endpoint: verum 68% (95% CI 58-77%) (n=92), sham 40% (95% CI 27-53%) (n=53), and COT 28% (95% CI 14-42%) (n=38). The results are significant for verum over sham and verum over COT (p<0.01) for both the primary and secondary endpoints. The PPP analysis of the primary (n=308) and secondary endpoints (n=360) yields similar responder results for verum over sham and verum over COT (p<0.01). Descriptive statistics showed greater improvement of shoulder mobility (abduction and arm-above-head test) for the verum group versus the control group immediately after treatment and after 3 months. The trial indicates that Chinese acupuncture is an effective alternative to conventional orthopaedic treatment for CSP.

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