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Background Empiric antifungal therapy is considered the standard of care for high-risk neutropenic patients with persistent fever. The impact of a preemptive, diagnostic-driven approach based on galactomannan screening and chest computed tomography scan on demand on survival and on the risk of invasive fungal disease (IFD) during the first weeks of high-risk neutropenia is unknown. Methods Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant recipients were randomly assigned to receive caspofungin empirically (arm A) or preemptively (arm B), while receiving fluconazole 400 mg daily prophylactically. The primary end point of this noninferiority study was overall survival (OS) 42 days after randomization. Results Of 556 patients recruited, 549 were eligible: 275 in arm A and 274 in arm B. Eighty percent of the patients had AML or MDS requiring high-dose chemotherapy, and 93% of them were in the first induction phase. At day 42, the OS was not inferior in arm B (96.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 93.8%–98.3%) when compared with arm A (93.1%; 95% CI, 89.3%–95.5%). The rates of IFDs at day 84 were not significantly different, 7.7% (95% CI, 4.5%–10.8%) in arm B vs 6.6% (95% CI, 3.6%–9.5%) in arm A. The rate of patients who received caspofungin was significantly lower in arm B (27%) than in arm A (63%; P < .001). Conclusions The preemptive antifungal strategy was safe for high-risk neutropenic patients given fluconazole as prophylaxis, halving the number of patients receiving antifungals without excess mortality or IFDs. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT01288378; EudraCT 2010-020814-27.

Introduction The association between genetic background and the risk of invasive aspergillosis (IA) has not been addressed in Thailand. We conducted genetic risk surveillance for IA among Thai hematologic patients. Methods We conducted a prospective observational cohort study including moderate- to high-risk hematology patients at Ramathibodi Hospital. IA occurrence, relevant clinical data, and genetic analyses were assessed. Odds ratios (ORs) of IA were assessed for the presence of the selected single nucleotide polymorphism genotype using logistic regression. Results A total of 357 patients were enrolled. The most common hematologic disease was non-Hodgkin lymphoma (45.1%). IA was diagnosed in 36 patients (10.10%). The C allele of IL10rs1800896 was associated with an increased risk of IA (adjusted OR 5.297; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.032–13.809, p = 0.001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, prolonged neutropenia and the C allele of IL10rs1800896 were associated with IA (hazard ratio [HR] 12.585; 95% CI 3.866–40.967, p < 0.001 and HR 2.449; 95% CI 1.097–5.468, p = 0.042, respectively). Conclusions Carrying the C allele of IL10rs1800896 was associated with an increased risk of IA among moderate- to high-risk Thai patients with hematologic diseases. This finding can potentially lead to a novel risk stratification scheme to further prevent IA in resource-limited settings. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40121-020-00331-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Data concerning the incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in high-risk patients in Greece are scarce, while the impact of the revised 2020 EORTC/MSGERC consensus criteria definitions on the reported incidence rate of IA remains unknown. A total of 93 adult hematology patients were screened for IA for six months in four tertiary care Greek hospitals. Serial serum specimens (n = 240) the sample was considered negative by PCR were collected twice-weekly and tested for galactomannan (GM) and Aspergillus DNA (PCR) detection. IA was defined according to both the 2008 EORTC/MSG and the 2020 EORTC/MSGERC consensus criteria. Based on the 2008 EORTC/MSG criteria, the incidence rates of probable and possible IA was 9/93 (10%) and 24/93 (26%), respectively, while no proven IA was documented. Acute myeloid leukemia was the most (67%) common underlying disease with most (82%) patients being on antifungal prophylaxis/treatment. Based on the new 2020 EORTC/MSGERC criteria, 2/9 (22%) of probable and 1/24 (4%) of possible cases should be reclassified as possible and probable, respectively. The episodes of probable IA were reduced by 33% when GM alone and 11% when GM + PCR were used as mycological criterion. The incidence rate of IA in hematology patients was 10%. Application of the 2020 EORTC/MSGERC updated criteria results in a reduction in the classification of probable IA particularly when PCR is not available.

Background The study objective was to assess the influence of neutropenia on outcome of critically ill cancer patients by meta-analysis of individual data. Secondary objectives were to assess the influence of neutropenia on outcome of critically ill patients in prespecified subgroups (according to underlying tumor, period of admission, need for mechanical ventilation and use of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)). Methods Data sources were PubMed and the Cochrane database. Study selection included articles focusing on critically ill cancer patients published in English and studies in humans from May 2005 to May 2015. For study selection, the study eligibility was assessed by two investigators. Individual data from selected studies were obtained from corresponding authors. Results Overall, 114 studies were identified and authors of 30 studies (26.3% of selected studies) agreed to participate in this study. Of the 7515 included patients, three were excluded due to a missing major variable (neutropenia or mortality) leading to analysis of 7512 patients, including 1702 neutropenic patients (22.6%). After adjustment for confounders, and taking study effect into account, neutropenia was independently associated with mortality (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.23–1.62; P = 0.03). When analyzed separately, neither admission period, underlying malignancy nor need for mechanical ventilation modified the prognostic influence of neutropenia on outcome. However, among patients for whom data on G-CSF administration were available (n = 1949; 25.9%), neutropenia was no longer associated with outcome in patients receiving G-CSF (OR 1.03; 95% CI 0.70–1.51; P = 0.90). Conclusion Among 7512 critically ill cancer patients included in this systematic review, neutropenia was independently associated with poor outcome despite a meaningful survival. Neutropenia was no longer significantly associated with outcome in patients treated by G-CSF, which may suggest a beneficial effect of G-CSF in neutropenic critically ill cancer patients. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42015026347. Date of registration: Sept 18 2015 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13054-018-2076-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

As conventional microbiological documentation of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is difficult to obtain, serum fungal biomarkers are important adjunctive diagnostic tools. Positivity rates and the kinetic profiles of galactomannan (GM), 1,3-β-D-glucan (BDG) and Aspergillus DNA (PCR) were studied in high-risk patients with hematologic malignancies. GM, BDG and PCR data from serial serum specimens (n = 240) from 93 adult hematology patients with probable (n = 8), possible (n = 25) and no (n = 60) IA were retrospectively analyzed. Positivity rates and sensitivity/specificity/positive/negative predictive values (NPV) of each fungal biomarker alone and in combination were estimated. The three markers were compared head-to-head and correlated with various biochemical, demographic and patient characteristics. The positivity rates for patients with probable/possible/no IA were 88%/8%/0 % for GM (X2 = 55, p &lt, 0.001), 62%/46%/35% for BDG (X2 = 2.5, p = 0.29), 62%/33%/27% for PCR (X2 = 3.9, p = 0.15), 50%/4%/0% for GM + BDG and GM + PCR (X2 = 31, p &lt, 0.001), 50%/8%/22% for BDG + PCR (X2 = 6.5, p = 0.038) and 38%/4%/0% for GM + BDG + PCR (X2 = 21, p &lt, 0.001). Higher agreement (76%) and negative correlation (rs = -0.47, p = 0.0017) was found between GM index and PCR Ct values. The sensitivity and NPV was 45-55% and 90-92% when biomarkers assessed alone and increased to 75-90% and 93-97%, respectively when combined. Weak significant correlations were found between GM, PCR and BDG results with renal/liver function markers (r = 0.11–0.57) with most GM+ and PCR+ samples found in the first and second week of clinical assessment, respectively and BDG later on. Different positivity rates, time profiles and performances were found for the three biomarkers advocating the combination of GM with PCR for the early diagnosis of IA, whereas the high NPV of combined biomarkerscould help excluding IA.

Contains fulltext : 182567.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) BACKGROUND: In immunocompromised patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (ARF), initial management aims primarily to avoid invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). METHODS: To assess the impact of initial management on IMV and mortality rates, we performed a multinational observational prospective cohort study in 16 countries (68 centers). RESULTS: A total of 1611 patients were enrolled (hematological malignancies 51.9%, solid tumors 35.2%, systemic diseases 17.3%, and solid organ transplantation 8.8%). The main ARF etiologies were bacterial (29.5%), viral (15.4%), and fungal infections (14.7%), or undetermined (13.2%). On admission, 915 (56.8%) patients were not intubated. They received standard oxygen (N = 496, 53.9%), high-flow oxygen (HFNC, N = 187, 20.3%), noninvasive ventilation (NIV, N = 153, 17.2%), and NIV + HFNC (N = 79, 8.6%). Factors associated with IMV included age (hazard ratio = 0.92/year, 95% CI 0.86-0.99), day-1 SOFA (1.09/point, 1.06-1.13), day-1 PaO2/FiO2 (1.47, 1.05-2.07), ARF etiology (Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (2.11, 1.42-3.14), invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (1.85, 1.21-2.85), and undetermined cause (1.46, 1.09-1.98). After propensity score matching, HFNC, but not NIV, had an effect on IMV rate (HR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.59-1.00, p = 0.05). ICU, hospital, and day-90 mortality rates were 32.4, 44.1, and 56.4%, respectively. Factors independently associated with hospital mortality included age (odds ratio = 1.18/year, 1.09-1.27), direct admission to the ICU (0.69, 0.54-0.87), day-1 SOFA excluding respiratory score (1.12/point, 1.08-1.16), PaO2/FiO2 < 100 (1.60, 1.03-2.48), and undetermined ARF etiology (1.43, 1.04-1.97). Initial oxygenation strategy did not affect mortality; however, IMV was associated with mortality, the odds ratio depending on IMV conditions: NIV + HFNC failure (2.31, 1.09-4.91), first-line IMV (2.55, 1.94-3.29), NIV failure (3.65, 2.05-6.53), standard oxygen failure (4.16, 2.91-5.93), and HFNC failure (5.54, 3.27-9.38). CONCLUSION: HFNC has an effect on intubation but not on mortality rates. Failure to identify ARF etiology is associated with higher rates of both intubation and mortality. This suggests that in addition to selecting the appropriate oxygenation device, clinicians should strive to identify the etiology of ARF.

Padovi bolesnika za vrijeme hospitalizacije na Odjelu hematologije predstavljaju ozbiljan problem koji utječe na sigurnost i kvalitetu života bolesnika za vrijeme liječenja. Cilj rada bio je ustanoviti učestalost padova bolesnika na Odjelu hematologije tijekom godinu dana, najčešće faktore rizika za pad, uzroke pada i posljedice pada, te educirati sestrinsko osoblje o važnosti procjene rizika za pad i prevencije pada. Istraživanje je provedeno od 1. 1. 2013. do 1. 1. 2014. na Odjelu hematologije KB Merkur. Podaci o padu pacijenata prikupljeni su iz „Prijavnih lista za pad bolesnika“, izvješća o incidentu, povijesti bolesti, terapijske liste, sestrinskih zapažanja i temperaturne liste. Za procjenu rizika za pad služili smo se Morseovom ljestvicom. Tijekom 2013. godine na Odjelu hematologije prijavljeno je 20 padova bolesnika. Najčešći uzroci padova bili su opća slabost, nesvjestica, vrtoglavica, anemija, smanjena pokretljivost, febrilitet, nekritičnost pacijenta, smetenost, promjena okoline, nesurađivanje pacijenta. Kod osamnaest padova (90%) bila su prisutna više od tri faktora rizika za pad. Nakon devet padova (45%) nije bilo nikakvih posljedica, a nakon njih jedanaest (55%) najčešće posljedice su bile bol na mjestu traume nakon četiri pada (36%) te hematomi nakon pet padova (45%). Prema Morseovoj skali 17 padova (85%) zabilježeno je kod pacijenata koji su imali visoki rizik za pad. Zbog brojnih čimbenika rizika, hematološki bolesnici imaju veliki rizik za pad za vrijeme hospitalizacije. U svrhu poboljšanja kvalitete našeg rada trebalo bi unaprijediti provođenje procjene rizika za pad, redovitu edukaciju i osigurati dovoljan broj sestrinskog osoblja., Patients' falls during hospitalization at the Department of Hematology are a serious problem affecting the safety and quality of patients' lifes during the treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of falls in patients on the Hematology Department during one year, the most common factors for falling, causes and consequences of the falls, and to educate the nursing staff about the importance of risk assessment for the fall and fall prevention. The study was carried out between January 1st 2013 and January 1st 2014 at the Department of Hematology in Hospital Merkur. Information about the fall of the patients were collected from the "application sheets for patient's fall", incident reports, medical history, therapeutic lists, nursing observations and temperature charts. The Morse scale has been used to indicate the risk of falling. During 2013, the department of hematology reported 20 falls. The most common causes of falling were weakness, fainting, vertigo,anemia, reduced mobility, fever, uncritical patients, confusion and changes in the environment. In 18 patients' falls (90%) there were more than three risk factors for the fall. Nine falls had no consequences, while in the remaining eleven (55%) the most common were the pain at the site of trauma after four falls (36%) and hematoma after five falls (45%). According to the Morse scale 17 falls (85%) appeared in the patients with high risk for falling. Because of the many risk factors, hematology patients have a high risk for a fall during hospitalization. In order to improve the quality of our work we should improve fall risk assessment, conduct regular education and ensure adequate number of nursing staff.