The Steritas pediatric Glucocorticoid Toxicity Index (pGTI)[1] provides a systematic approach to assessing steroid-toxicity in children between the ages of 2 and 18 years. It is used to measure and monitor steroid-toxicity in young patients.
The pGTI instrument provides weighted scores of steroid-toxicity that equip researchers, clinicians and regulators to evaluate the impact of steroid-sparing treatments. The pGTI is fast, accurate, and easy to implement.
Glucocorticoids can severely impact growth and development in children, lead to adverse events in puberty, and can affect overall wellness throughout adulthood. To fully address these impairments, the pGTI:
Regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency view steroid reduction as a reflection of both efficacy and safety.
Reduction in steroid-toxicity, as measured by the Steritas GTI, constituted the key secondary endpoint in the ADVOCATE trial.[2] The FDA granted approval to use avacopan for the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis. The GTI and pGTI now support a growing list of therapies in clinical trials and real-world studies.
The pGTI provides the only clinical outcome assessment (COA) that drug developers can rely on to demonstrate improved safety of their new treatment compared to steroids alone. When a new therapy is shown to be non-inferior to standard therapy with regard to efficacy, the safety of the new agent, as measured by the pGTI, becomes of paramount importance.
John H. Stone, MD MPH
Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the Edward A. Fox Chair in Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Joyce Chang, MD MSCE
Pediatric rheumatologist at Boston Children's Hospital
Jane McDowell, MBBS BSc PhD
Academic clinical lecturer at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland
The pGTI balances scientific rigor and data analytics with ease of use. In most cases, the STOX® Suite calculates steroid-toxicity using data that are collected routinely in clinical trial or in practice.
We welcome your interest in the STOX Suite. All uses of these instruments require a license, whether you are an academic researcher, biotech start-up, a large pharmaceutical company, or a clinical research organization.
Steritas will structure a use license to support the scope and design of your trial and the needs of your organization.