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Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is an increasingly common and curative treatment strategy to improve survival among individuals malignant and nonmalignant diseases, with over one million HCTs having been performed worldwide. Neurocognitive dysfunction is a common and untoward consequence of HCT for many recipients, although few studies have examined the profile of neurocognitive impairments in HCT or their association with clinical features, such as frailty. We examined the pattern and correlates of pre-transplant neurocognitive dysfunction in a prospective sample of adults undergoing HCT. Neurocognition was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Battery. Frailty was assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations between neurocognitive performance and frailty. Profiles of neurocognitive performance were also examined by partitioning MoCA scores into relevant domains of interest, including Executive Function and Memory. Regression analyses controlled for age, gender, education, and disease type. One hundred and ten adults were evaluated across a wide age range (range: 19-75; mean age = 54.7 [SD = 14.1]). Neurocognitive performance tended to fall below published normative levels (mean MoCA = 25.5 [SD = 4.1]), with 20% of participants demonstrating impaired performance compared with medical patients (score < 24) and 34% exhibiting impaired performance relative to healthy normative samples (score <26). Examination of cognitive profiles revealed that while mild impairments in Executive Function were common across the entire sample, greater age was most closely associated with worse Memory performance (r = -0.33, P<.01) and greater levels of short physical performance battery score were most strongly associated with worse Executive Function (r = -0.39, P<.01). Neurocognitive impairments are common among adults undergoing HCT and the pattern of performance varies by age. Frailty is a strong correlate of neurocognitive function and particularly Executive Function components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Enterococcus intestinal domination (EID), a state of dysbiosis wherein enterococci comprise ≥30% abundance within the microbiota, has been associated with Enterococcus bacteremia, graft-versus-host disease, and mortality in the allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo HCT) population. The acute leukemia (AL) chemotherapy population includes patients receiving intensive chemotherapy, but not all patients go on to have an allo HCT. The impact of EID on outcomes including mortality in the AL chemotherapy population is unknown. Methods Microbiota composition from weekly stool samples was analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Patients were analyzed in 2 cohorts: AL chemotherapy cohort and allo HCT cohort. α -diversity and richness were calculated. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to analyze mortality. Results A total of 929 stool samples were collected from 139 patients. Both allo HCT and AL cohorts had a decline in α-diversity and richness over the course of treatment that tended not to return to baseline months later. EID was observed in at least 1 sample in 36% of allo HCT patients and 49% of AL patients. Patients with observed EID had lower α-diversity over time. Similar to the HCT cohort, AL patients with EID had reduced overall survival. We identified 4 other genera that were commonly found in ≥30% relative abundance within the microbiota, but none were associated with mortality. In fact, in allo HCT, Bacteroides abundance ≥30% was associated with improved survival. Conclusions EID is associated with increased all-cause mortality in HCT and AL cohorts. Unlike EID, relative abundance ≥30% by other genera is not associated with increased all-cause mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) can be a curative therapy for hematologic disorders, it is associated with treatment-related complications and losses in cardiorespiratory fitness and physical function. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be a practical way to rapidly improve cardiorespiratory fitness and physical function in the weeks prior to HCT. The primary aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of implementing a pre-HCT home-based HIIT intervention. The secondary aim was to evaluate pre to post changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and physical function following the intervention. Methods: This was a single-arm pilot study with patients who were scheduled to undergo allogeneic HCT within six months. Patients were instructed to complete three 30-minute home-based HIIT sessions/week between the time of study enrollment and sign-off for HCT. Sessions consisted of a 5-minute warm-up, 10 high and low intervals performed for one minute each, and a 5-minute cool-down. Prescribed target heart rates (HR) for the high- and low-intensity intervals were 80–90% and 50–60% of HR reserve, respectively. Heart rates during HIIT were captured via an Apple Watch and were remotely monitored. Feasibility was assessed via retention, session adherence, and adherence to prescribed interval number and intensities. Paired t-tests were used to compare changes in fitness (VO2peak) and physical function [Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 30-second sit to stand, and six-minute walk test (6MWT)] between baseline and sign-off. Pearson correlations were used to determine the relationship between intervention length and changes in cardiorespiratory fitness or functional measures. Results: Thirteen patients (58.8±11.6 years) participated in the study, and nine (69.2%) recorded their training sessions throughout the study. Median session adherence for those nine participants was 100% (IQR: 87–107). Adherence to intervals was 92% and participants met or exceeded prescribed high-intensity HR on 68.8±34.8% of intervals. VO2peak improved from baseline to sign-off (14.6±3.1 mL/kg/min to 17.9±3.3 mL/kg/min; p<0.001). 30-second sit to stand and SPPB chair stand scores significantly improved in adherent participants. Improvements in 30-second sit to stand (13.8±1.5 to 18.3±3.3 seconds) and 6MWT (514.4±43.2 to 564.6±19.3) exceeded minimal clinically important improvements established in other chronic disease populations, representing the minimum improvement considered meaningful to patients. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that implementing a pre-HCT home-based remotely monitored HIIT program is feasible and may provide benefits to cardiorespiratory fitness and physical function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In order to study the role of the microbiome in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT), researchers collect stool samples from patients at various time points throughout HCT. However, stool collection requires active subject participation and may be limited by patient reluctance to handling stool. Methods: We performed a prospective study on the impact of financial incentives on stool collection rates. The intervention group consisted of allogeneic HCT patients from 05/2017-05/2018 who were compensated with a $10 gas gift card for each stool sample. The intervention group was compared to a historical control group of allogeneic HCT patients from 11/2016-05/2017 who provided stool samples before the incentive was implemented. To control for possible changes in collections over time, we also compared a contemporaneous control group of autologous HCT patients from 05/2017-05/2018 with a historical control group of autologous HCT patients from 11/2016-05/2017; neither autologous HCT group was compensated. The collection rate was defined as the number of samples provided divided by the number of time points we attempted to obtain stool. Results: There were 35 allogeneic HCT patients in the intervention group, 19 allogeneic HCT patients in the historical control group, 142 autologous HCT patients in the contemporaneous control group (that did not receive a financial incentive), and 75 autologous HCT patients in the historical control group. Allogeneic HCT patients in the intervention group had significantly higher average overall collection rates when compared to the historical control group allogeneic HCT patients (80% vs 37%, p<0.0001). There were no significant differences in overall average collection rates between the autologous HCT patients in the contemporaneous control and historical control groups (36% vs 32%, p = 0.2760). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that a modest incentive can significantly increase collection rates. These results may help to inform the design of future studies involving stool collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to learn more about the role of the microbiome in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT), researchers collect stool samples from patients at various time points throughout HCT. However, unlike blood samples or skin swabs, stool collection requires active subject participation, particularly in the outpatient setting, and may be limited by patient aversion to handling stool. By providing study participants with compensation for their stool samples, we hypothesize that we can significantly increase stool collection rates. We performed a prospective cohort study on the impact of financial incentives on stool collection rates for microbiome studies. The intervention group consisted of allo-HCT patients from 05/2017-05/2018 who were compensated with a $10 gas gift card for each stool sample. The intervention group was compared to a historical control group consisting of allo-HCT patients from 11/2016-05/2017 who provided stool samples before the incentive was implemented. To control for potential changes in collections over time, we also compared a contemporaneous control group of auto-HCT patients from 05/2017-05/2018 with a historical control group of auto-HCT patients from 11/2016-05/2017; neither auto-HCT groups were compensated. Allo-HCT patients were required to give samples at pre-HCT, day 0 (the day of HCT), and days 7, 14, 21, 30, 60, and 90 post-HCT. Auto-HCT patients were required to give samples at pre-HCT and days 7, 14, and 90 post-HCT. Collection rates were defined as the number of samples provided divided by the number of time points for which we attempted to obtain samples. There were 35 allo-HCT patients in the intervention group, 19 allo-HCT patients in the historical control group, 142 auto-HCT patients in the contemporaneous control group, and 75 auto-HCT patients in the historical control group. Allo-HCT patients in the intervention group had significantly higher average overall collection rates when compared to the historical control group allo-HCT patients (80% vs 37%, p<0.001), as well has significantly higher average outpatient collection rates (84% vs 23%, p<0.001) and average inpatient collection rates (71% vs 46%, p=0.04). In contrast, there were no significant differences in overall average collection rates between the auto-HCT patients in the contemporaneous control and historical control groups (36% vs 32%, p=0.28), as well as the average outpatient collection rates (30% vs 28%, p=0.54) and the average inpatient collection rates (46% vs 59%, p=0.25). Our results demonstrate that even a modest incentive can significantly increase collection rates. While this study uses a specialized HCT patient population, these results may be generalizable to informing the design of future studies and aid other researchers in obtaining stool samples needed for future microbiome studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]