Search

Background: Antithrombin (AT) replacement is occasionally utilized in the setting of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-associated heparin resistance. Although past studies emphasized the high costs and limited clinical benefit of AT supplementation,  guidance on strategies to prevent unnecessary use remain lacking. Methods: In this retrospective study, we evaluated the cost, efficacy, and safety outcomes three years pre- and post-implementation of an AT restriction protocol in adult ECMO patients. The primary endpoint was the cost spent on anticoagulation and AT normalized to ECMO duration. Secondary endpoints included thromboembolic and bleeding outcomes. Results: 175 patients were included for analysis (pre-restriction protocol n = 87; post-restriction protocol n = 88). Implementation of the restriction resulted in complete elimination of AT use and significantly reduced the primary cost endpoint from $1009.20 to $42.99 per ECMO day ( p < .001). There was no significant change in occurrence of new Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) ( p = .099). Those in the pre-implementation group had significantly higher rates of transfusions ( p < .001) and ISTH major bleeding ( p < .001). Outcomes remained significant after exclusion of patients with coronavirus infections. Conclusion: Results of this study exemplify how AT restriction can be successfully implemented to decrease anticoagulation-associated costs without jeopardizing the risk of bleeding and thrombosis in ECMO patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: Fatigue and disrupted sleep often coexist and both are prominent clinical problems in cancer affecting quality of life. Disrupted sleep patterns are likely related to cancer-related fatigue. The relationship needs further investigation. This study aimed to characterize and compare disrupted sleep patterns in fatigued breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy with postmenopausal women without a history of cancer. Anxiety levels were also examined., Methods: Data for this secondary analysis came from two studies. Global sleep quality and state anxiety were self-reported by 30 fatigued female breast cancer chemotherapy outpatients and 32 non-cancer postmenopausal women using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively., Results: Fatigued breast cancer patients showed significant sleep difficulties, characterized by prolonged sleep onset latency (M=54.3, SD=49.2 min) and frequent nighttime awakenings, despite 40% of the patients using sleep medications three or more times a week. Compared to the non-cancer comparison group, fatigued patients reported significantly longer sleep latency (p=0.041), more use of sleep medications (p=0.006), and higher total PSQI scores (p=0.005). State anxiety levels did not differ between the two groups (p=0.88)., Conclusions: Sleep is disrupted in fatigued breast cancer women undergoing chemotherapy. Nearly all fatigued patients (97%) had trouble sleeping (global PSQI scores>5), indicating significant difficulties in overall sleep quality among those patients. Knowledge of the nature of sleep disruption among cancer patients may contribute to CRF symptom management leading to tailored interventions designed to improve sleep quality in cancer patients thereby managing fatigue and improving quality of life., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)