Clinical spectrum of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT): Data from the comprehensive hht outcomes registry of the United States (CHORUS)

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is the second most common inherited bleeding disorder (IBD) worldwide, afflicting 1 in 5,000 people. HHT is likely the most morbid IBD of women. Severe, recurrent epistaxis, gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, and solid organ arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) cause major clinical and psychosocial morbidity and reduced survival. In recognition of the serious morbidity of HHT as an IBD, in 2022 the U.S. Congress allocated funding to create CHORUS, the Comprehensive HHT Outcomes Registry of the United States (NCT06259292). Herein, we present the initial report from CHORUS. METHODS CHORUS is a prospective, multicenter, U.S. longitudinal registry enrolling unselected patients with HHT, collecting over 2400 data elements. Data were collected by trained research coordinators at enrollment and follow-up visits via the medical record and direct participant interviews. RESULTS Patients. 600 patients with genetically- or Curacao criteria-confirmed HHT were enrolled from November 2023 to April 2025 at 15 U.S. HHT Centers of Excellence. Median (range) age was 53 (0-88) years, and the cohort was 60% female. Despite most patients developing typical HHT disease manifestations by age 13, most HHT diagnoses (63%) were made during mid-to-late adulthood. Mucosal Bleeding. 568 patients (95%) developed recurrent spontaneous epistaxis, with 339 (60%) developing recurrent epistaxis prior to age 13; 43% had at least one nasal surgery/procedure and 22% had at least one medical therapy (e.g., antifibrinolytic or antiangiogenic) for epistaxis. 180 (30%) had a known diagnosis of chronic GI bleeding. Among post-menarche females, 124 (34%) had been diagnosed with heavy menstrual bleeding. 247 (41%) reported other clinically significant mucocutaneous oral or skin bleeding. 454 (76%) had developed moderate-to-severe HHT-associated mucocutaneous bleeding, defined as an Epistaxis Severity Score >4, bleeding requiring targeted pharmaceutical or surgical intervention, IV iron, and/or red cell transfusion. This includes 334 (56%) with moderate-to-severe HHT-associated epistaxis. CNS and Pulmonary Hemorrhage. 16 patients (3%) suffered one or more intracranial hemorrhages (ICH), with 10 (63%) suffering a first ICH by age 25. 13 (2%) suffered one or more pulmonary hemorrhages. Iron Deficiency and Anemia. 408 patients (68%) had been diagnosed with anemia (351, 59%) or iron deficiency (381, 64%). Of those, 247 (61%) and 150 (37%) required IV iron and RBC transfusion, respectively. Solid Organ AVMs. Brain, pulmonary, and liver AVMs were diagnosed in 81 (15%), 268 (45%), and 128 patients (21%), respectively. Just 30 with brain AVMs (37%) had these diagnosed by age 25. 3 patients (2%) had undergone liver transplantation. Thrombosis. Venous and arterial thromboembolism occurred in 44 (7%) and 38 patients (6%), respectively, including 34 (6%) with ischemic stroke (94% of whom had pulmonary AVMs). Other Serious HHT Complications. These included heart failure in 41 patients (7%), pulmonary hypertension in 44 (7%), chronic liver disease in 17 (2.8%), epilepsy in 24 (4%), severe bacterial/deep-seated tissue infection in 35 (6%), and brain abscess in 15 (3%). 205 (34%) developed migraine. Notably, serious CNS manifestations of HHT (brain AVM, ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and/or epilepsy) occurred in 128 (21%). 241 (40%) required emergency room visits and/or hospital admissions specifically to manage HHT complications. CONCLUSIONS This first-of-its-kind HHT registry reliably describes for the first time the incidence and severity of numerous HHT complications. Most patients develop moderate-to-severe recurrent epistaxis and/or chronic GI bleeding as well as iron deficiency anemia (usually requiring IV iron and/or RBC transfusion). Heavy menstrual bleeding, thromboembolism, severe cardiopulmonary complications, and serious CNS complications are all substantially more common in HHT than previously thought. Notably, ICH occurred in 3% of patients, which approximates the ICH incidence of hemophilia in the pre-factor prophylaxis era and is ~2-fold and ~9-fold higher than in hemophilia A treated with modern factor prophylaxis (1.6%) and modern non-factor prophylactic agents (0.3%), respectively, per the ATHN registry. This 3% number may be an underestimation given the known high ICH mortality rate, pervasive delay in HHT diagnosis, and the fact that survival post-ICH is necessary to enroll in CHORUS.