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Background: Many health care organizations offer pediatric infusions in outpatient infusion centers or, as in our organization, in a hospital-based outpatient Pediatric Infusion Therapy Center (PITC). When restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic decreased our PITC appointment capacity by 40%, other patient and family satisfaction issues were exacerbated. We implemented a new approach to pediatric infusions with the aim of improving patient and family satisfaction and reducing the amount of time in an appointment itinerary without negatively affecting patient safety. Methods: Our team used a phased approach to pilot the administration of short chemotherapy infusions in the same outpatient clinic examination rooms where consultation and routine office visits were conducted. Patients saw their specialist for an examination and, if clinically indicated, their infusion was administered in the same room. Appointment itineraries were then completed. The team tracked efficiency, satisfaction, and safety metrics related to the new process. Results: All efficiency metrics improved. No harm came to the 49 unique patients who received a total of 184 infusions. Patient appointment itineraries were shortened by an average of 1.03 hr. Satisfaction survey responses indicated a clear preference (93%) for the new process. Discussion: The novel approach of offering short infusions in outpatient clinic examination rooms provides an opportunity to ease capacity constraints and further increase patient and family satisfaction. This method may be especially helpful for health care organizations when external influences (e.g., lack of physical space, challenging patient volumes, and pandemics) necessitate a change.

BACKGROUND Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is associated with few adverse effects. We have anecdotally noted patients treated with long-term ECP develop iron deficiency anemia (IDA). METHODS We performed a retrospective chart review of adult patients who received ECP for any indication at Mayo Clinic Rochester and Mayo Clinic Arizona. The primary objective was to describe the cumulative incidence of IDA at 1 year of ECP therapy. RESULTS A total of 123 patients were eligible for analysis. Graft-vs-host disease was the most common indication for ECP (n = 76, 61.8%). At 1 year of ECP therapy, the cumulative incidence of IDA was 24.1% (95% CI, 14.2%-32.9%). At 5 years, the cumulative incidence of IDA was 68.3% (95% CI, 38%-83.8%). Risk factors for the development of IDA included: cumulative number of ECP sessions (HR 1.34, 95% CI, 1.05-1.73 per 10 additional sessions, P = .022), an indication for ECP of solid organ transplant rejection (compared to cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, HR 5.46, 95% CI, 2.06-14.49, P

To evaluate the correlation between an uncapped, actual body weight-based unfractionated heparin dosing strategy, we performed a body mass index-based subanalysis of a previously reported pediatric cohort. Nearly half (45%) of obese patients were supra-therapeutic on initial anti-FXa assessment. Obese patients achieved therapeutic anti-FXa significantly faster than nonobese patients (median 4 vs 12 hours, P = .0192) and were more likely to have any supra-therapeutic anti-FXa levels (77% vs 35%; P = .0021). There was no statistically significant difference in major or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding rates between weight categories (P = .69). Prospective pediatric studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

INTRODUCTION Enoxaparin is commonly used to treat pediatric thrombosis. Several small retrospective studies have suggested that infants and young children require higher enoxaparin doses to achieve therapeutic anti-factor Xa levels compared with adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective study of hospitalized children who received enoxaparin for the treatment of thrombosis at a free-standing children's hospital. The primary objective was to ascertain the enoxaparin dose required to achieve an anti-factor Xa level of 0.5 to 1.0 U/mL among 4 age groups in a large cohort of infants and young children between 60 days and 5 years of age. RESULTS A total of 176 infants and children were evaluated. The majority of patients were less than 1 year of age (n=104). An inverse relationship between enoxaparin dose needed to achieve therapeutic anti-factor Xa levels and patient age was noted, particularly in the first year of life. Patients who were 60 days to less than 7 months at the time of enoxaparin initiation (n=73) required the highest mean dose among the age groups at 1.73 mg/kg subcutaneously every 12 hours (P

Since its emergence as a novel therapy for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in 1987, extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has gained popularity in the fields of solid organ and stem cell transplantation (Perotti et al Transfus Apher Sci 2015). Though ECP is thought to be associated with few adverse effects, we have anecdotally noted that some patients treated with ECP develop iron deficiency anemia. Anemia has been reported in ECP literature at an incidence of anywhere from 0% to 24.5%, however, the etiology of the anemia has not been described (Quaglino et al Int J Dermatol 2013, Flowers et al Blood 2008, Jaksch et al J Heart Lung Transpl 2012, Dignan et al Bone Marrow Transpl 2014). We performed a retrospective chart review to further investigate the magnitude of this potential adverse effect. Adult patients receiving ECP for any indication at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Rochester were eligible for inclusion. Patients with pre-existing iron deficiency anemia (IDA) or physiologic and/or pharmacologic reasons for altered iron homeostasis were excluded from analysis. The primary endpoint was to describe the cumulative incidence of IDA at one year of ECP therapy, utilizing Kaplan-Meier methodology. We defined IDA as a hemoglobin < 12 g/dL (females) or < 14 g/dL (males), plus any of the following: MCV < 80 fL, ferritin < 11 mcg/L, iron < 35 mcg/dL (females) or < 50 mcg/dL (males), total iron binding capacity > 400 mcg/dL, or percent saturation Between January 1, 2006 and July 1, 2015, a total of 120 adult patients were treated with ECP at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN; 80 patients met inclusion criteria. For the remaining 40 patients, patients were excluded for recent history of transfusions and/or phlebotomy (n=27), incomplete documentation (n=7), IDA at baseline (n=3), or potentially confounding past medical histories (n=3). Treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was the foremost ECP indication in our cohort, accounting for 63.8% of our patients. Patients also received ECP for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, treatment of solid organ transplant rejection, and other indications (25%, 7.5%, and 3.8%, respectively). Mean age was 55.6 years, 38.7% were female, and the median duration of ECP therapy was 344 days (IQR 130 - 755 days). At 1 year from the start of ECP therapy, the cumulative incidence of IDA in our cohort was 21.1% (95% CI 9% - 31.6%; Figure 1). At 4 years from the start of ECP therapy, the cumulative incidence of IDA was 49.1% (95% CI 26.4% - 64.8%). Of those that developed an IDA at any time during ECP therapy, 6/20 (30%) underwent invasive diagnostic procedures (colonoscopy and/or upper endoscopy) to evaluate the etiology of the IDA. Iron supplementation was initiated in 18/20 (90%) patients; hemoglobin returned to normal in 8 patients (44.4%) based on available follow-up. These data indicate that a substantial number of patients develop IDA while receiving ECP therapy; a finding which may lead to more prompt recognition and treatment of IDA in patients receiving ECP, and perhaps spare expensive diagnostic procedures. Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier Curve of Cumulative Incidence of IDA During ECP Therapy Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier Curve of Cumulative Incidence of IDA During ECP Therapy Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.