Search

Objective: We aimed to systematically identify and critically assess the clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the management of critically ill patients with COVID-19 with the AGREE II instrument., Study Design and Setting: We searched Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, CNKI, CBM, WanFang, and grey literature from November 2019 - November 2020. We did not apply language restrictions. One reviewer independently screened the retrieved titles and abstracts, and a second reviewer confirmed the decisions. Full texts were assessed independently and in duplicate. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. We included any guideline that provided recommendations on the management of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Data extraction was performed independently and in duplicate by two reviewers. We descriptively summarized CPGs characteristics. We assessed the quality with the AGREE II instrument and we summarized relevant therapeutic interventions., Results: We retrieved 3,907 records and 71 CPGs were included. Means (Standard Deviations) of the scores for the 6 domains of the AGREE II instrument were 65%(SD19.56%), 39%(SD19.64%), 27%(SD19.48%), 70%(SD15.74%), 26%(SD18.49%), 42%(SD34.91) for the scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity of presentation, applicability, editorial independence domains, respectively. Most of the CPGs showed a low overall quality (less than 40%)., Conclusion: Future CPGs for COVID-19 need to rely, for their development, on standard evidence-based methods and tools., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reduce patients' quality of life, increase mortality and morbidity, and have a negative economic impact on healthcare systems. Nevertheless, the importance of ADR reporting is often underestimated. The project "FarmaREL" has been developed to monitor and evaluate ADRs in haematological patients and to increase pharmacovigilance culture among haematology specialists. In 13 haematology units, based in Lombardy, Italy, a dedicated specialist with the task of encouraging ADRs reporting and sensitizing healthcare professionals to pharmacovigilance has been assigned. The ADRs occurring in haematological patients were collected electronically and then analysed with multiple logistic regression. Between January 2009 and December 2011, 887 reports were collected. The number of ADRs was higher in older adults (528; 59%), in male (490; 55%), and in non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients (343; 39%). Most reactions were severe (45% required or prolonged hospitalization), but in most cases, they were fully resolved at the time of reporting. According to Schumock and Thornton criteria, a percentage of ADRs as high as 7% was found to be preventable versus 2% according to reporter opinion. Patients' haematological diagnosis, not age or gender, resulted to be the variable that most influenced ADR, in particular severity and outcome. The employment of personnel specifically dedicated to pharmacovigilance is a successful strategy to improve the number and quality of ADR reports. "FarmaREL", the first programme of active pharmacovigilance in oncohaematologic patients, significantly contributed to reach the WHO "Gold Standard" for pharmacovigilance in Lombardy, Italy., (Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is a rare subset of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma involving the heart and/or pericardium with no or minimal evidence of extracardiac involvement at presentation. Distant relapses have infrequently been observed. We report two cases of this disorder that showed isolated central nervous system (CNS) relapse. Diagnosis by endomyocardial biopsy was consistent with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. After immunochemotherapy they achieved complete remission (CR). Eight and five weeks after, isolated CNS relapses were observed respectively. The first patient was treated with high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) and high-dose cytarabine, resulting in a second CR. She then went onto receive autologous stem-cell transplantation but unfortunately died shortly after because of infection. The second patient received systemic CNS prophylaxis with HD-MTX, and later she was treated with an induction chemotherapy strategy with evidencing of progressive disease after two courses of treatment. She was subsequently initiated on a salvage therapy with cytarabine, followed by whole-brain radiotherapy, and autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT), finally achieving a complete remission. Isolated CNS relapse is a very uncommon pattern in PCL and a standard approach to treatment is not yet well established. Nevertheless, the importance of CNS evaluation, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and lumbar puncture, in patients with PCL should be considered, and further studies are recommended to determine the appropriate management of this complication.

Stem cell (SC) mobilization is significantly influenced by the mobilization schedule in patients with lymphoma. We evaluated data from 30 patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) undergoing SC mobilization. All received R-ESHAP plus a single dose of pegfilgrastim. All patients collected ⩾ 2 × 10(6) CD34+cells/kg, 80% of them at least 5 × 10(6) CD34+cells/kg. Adverse effects of the regimen included myelosuppression and neutropenic fever. Herein, our results suggest that R-ESHAP plus pegfilgrastim is a highly effective mobilization strategy in patients affected by DLBCL associated with a low incidence of adverse events., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Despite a high proportion of patients with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) experiences failure after/during first-line treatment, a few studies focused on salvage therapy are available, often with disappointing results. Herein, we report feasibility and activity of a combination of rituximab, ifosfamide and etoposide (R-IE regimen) in a multicentre series of patients with PCNSL relapsed or refractory to high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy. We considered consecutive HIV-negative patients ≤75 years old with failed PCNSL treated with R-IE regimen (rituximab 375 mg/m(2) , day 0; ifosfamide 2 g/m(2) /day, days1-3; etoposide 250 mg/m(2) , day 1; four courses). Twenty-two patients (median age 60 years; range 39-72; male/female ratio: 1:4) received R-IE as second-line (n = 18) or third-line (n = 4) treatment. Eleven patients had refractory PCNSL, and 11 had relapsing disease. Twelve patients had been previously irradiated. Sixty (68%) of the 88 planned courses were actually delivered; only one patient interrupted R-IE because of toxicity. Grade 4 hematological toxicity was manageable; a single case of grade 4 non-hematological toxicity (transient hepatotoxicity) was recorded. Response was complete in six patients and partial in three (overall response rate = 41%; 95%CI: 21-61%). Seven patients were successfully referred to autologous peripheral blood stem cell collection; four responders were consolidated with high-dose chemotherapy supported by autologous stem cell transplant. At a median follow-up of 24 months, eight responders did not experience relapse, two of them died of neurological impairment while in remission. Six patients are alive, with a 2-year survival after relapse of 25 ± 9%. We concluded that R-IE is a feasible and active combination for patients with relapsed/refractory PCNSL. This regimen allows stem cell collection and successful consolidation with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous transplant., (Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)