Search

Antithrombin III (Human) (AT III) was administered to 18 patients with documented hereditary AT III deficiency. In eight patients with no ongoing clinical symptoms of thrombosis, the percent increase per unit AT III infused per kilogram of body weight ranged from 1.56% to 2.74%, and the half-life from 43.3 to 77.0 hours. No significant difference was noted between patients receiving and those not receiving coumarin therapy. In clinically ill patients, the in vivo recovery was significantly lower and ranged from 0.64% to 1.90% increase per unit AT III infused/kg. Efficacy of AT III was evaluated in 13 patients for the prevention or treatment of thrombosis. AT III was efficacious as assessed by the absence of thrombotic complications after surgery and/or parturition, and the nonextension and nonrecurrence of thrombosis in patients exhibiting an acute thrombotic episode. No side effects were noted. Follow-up studies indicated no hepatitis B seroconversion and no alanine aminotransferase elevations in patients who were not transfused with other blood products.

The experience at a single institution in harvesting marrow for allogeneic transplantation on 1,270 occasions from 1,160 normal donors is presented in detail, together with an analysis of all the donor complications. Four donors were less than 2 years old, and the youngest was 6½ months. No special difficulties were encountered with these young donors. Hospitalization time was three days or less for 99% of the procedures. Six donors had life-threatening complications; three of a cardiopulmonary and two of an infectious nature, and one cerebrovascular embolic episode. Significant operative site morbidity, usually transient neuropathies, occurred in ten procedures. Ten percent of the donations were associated with transient postoperative fever of unknown origin. Increasing donor age was associated with a reduction of the cellularity of the marrow harvest. The use of stored autologous blood permitted the avoidance of blood bank transfusion in 81% of males, 69% of females, and 50% of children. It was concluded that the procedure was associated with a very low risk of complication, but that the involvement of normal donors in such an operation justifies stringent monitoring.

Seventy-five patients, 13 to 49 years of age, with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia in first remission were treated with cyclophosphamide, fractionated total body irradiation, and marrow transplantation from an HLA-identical sibling and randomized to receive either cyclosporine (CSP) (n – 36) or methotrexate (MTX) (n = 39) as prophylaxis for graft-v-host disease (GVHD). All patients engrafted, and 22 who were given CSP and 21 who were given MTX, are alive at 20 to 47 (median, 35) months (P =. 5). Engraftment as assessed by'granulocyte recovery (P <. 0005) and platelet transfusion requirement (P =. 01) was faster in patients on CSP. Twelve patients (33%) on CSP and 22 (56%) on MTX developed acute GVHD of grades II through IV (P = .07) and 15 of 30 on CSP and 14 of 32 on MTX that were at risk developed chronic GVHD. The most frequent causes of death were interstitial pneumonitis and marrow relapse of leukemia, which occurred with similar frequency in both groups. Beneficial effects observed in patients on CSP included less severe mucositis and shorter duration of hospitalization; adverse effects included renal function impairment and hypertension. These data confirm that CSP is a useful immunosuppressant in patients undergoing marrow transplantation but fail to show a significant improvement in survival as compared with the standard regimen of MTX. © 1985 by Grune & Stratton, Inc.

AbstractBacterial kidney disease (BKD) is an important contributor to mortality of salmonids in hatcheries in the Columbia River basin. However, the impact of BKD on the survival of downstream migrants is difficult to determine because there is little information on the disease-related mortality among these fish. In this study, the impact of BKD on juvenile salmonids was examined by determining the percentage of downriver migrants infected with Renibacterium salmoninarum(the causative agent of BKD) and evaluating the effects of salt water on the progress of the disease. During the 2 years of this study, approximately 20% of the three species of migrating hatchery and wild salmonids (Oncorhynchusspp.) collected were infected with R. salmoninarum. Mortality caused by BKD increased when fish were held in salt water.

Therapy of chronic graft-v-host disease (GVHD) has been unsatisfactory in patients with platelet counts <100,000/ μL. Survival at 5 years after marrow transplant is only 26% in such patients treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and every other day with prednisone. Since October 1982, 61 patients with high-risk extensive chronic GVHD were treated with a new alternating-day regimen of prednisone (1 mg/kg every other day) and oral cyclosporine (6 mg/kg every 12 hours every other day) with one double-strength TMP-SMX tablet twice daily. Forty patients (group I) received primary treatment of thrombocytopenic chronic GVHD (median platelet count 35 [range 7 to 87] x 103/μL). Twenty-one patients (group II) received salvage treatment after failing initial prednisone ± azathioprine. Twenty-one patients in group I and 15 in group II survive with a minimum of 2 years and a median of 3.7 years follow-up. At 4 years after transplant, actuarial survival is 51% (group I) and 67% (group II). Causes of death included interstitial pneumonia (six), relapse (five), GVHD without infection (five), infection (four), organ failure (three), and hemorrhage (two). Mortality increased with the progressive type onset of chronic GVHD and treatment failure. Toxicity included hypertension (13), nephrotoxicity (nine), nausea (seven), aseptic necrosis (five), neurologic abnormalities (four), and diabetes (three). Median cyclosporine levels at four and 36 hours were 296 and 64 ng/mL, respectively. Four patients required permanent discontinuation of cyclosporine, but none required renal dialysis. Karnofsky performance scores for 25 survivors are 90% to 100%, scores for six survivors are 70% to 89%, and scores for five survivors are <70%. Alternating- day cyclosporine and prednisone has acceptable toxicity and appears to improve survival in patients with high-risk chronic GVHD. © 1988 by Grune & Stratton, Inc.

We conducted a randomized, double-blind comparison of prednisone and placebo (group I) vprednisone and azathioprine (1.5 mg/kg/day) (group II) as early treatment of extensive chronic graft-v-host disease (GVHD). Patients with platelet counts <100,000/μL- were placed into therapy with prednisone alone (group III). All three groups received identical doses of prednisone (1 mg/kg every other day) and one double-strength trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) tablet twice daily. Between January 1980 and December 1983, 179 previously untreated patients were enrolled and 164 were evaluable. Patients randomized to group I (n = 63) and group II (n = 63) were well matched for prognostic factors; those placed into group III (n = 38) had more frequent acute GVHD and progressive onset of chronic GVHD. Median duration of therapy was 2 years. Complications included diabetes (5%), aseptic necrosis (5%) and infection. For groups I, II, and III, the respective incidence of infection was disseminated varicella, 11%, 24%, 34%; bacteremia, 6%, 11%, 34%; and interstitial pneumonia, 5%, 14%, 18%. Recurrent malignancy was the most frequent cause of death and did not differ significantly across the groups. Nonrelapse mortality, however, did differ: 21% in group I, 40% in group II, and 58% in group III (I vII, P= .003; I vIII, P= .001 ). Forty patients in group I, 30 in group II, and 10 in group III survive with a minimum follow-up of 3.8 years. Karnofsky performance scores for 68 survivors are 90% to 100%, scores for seven survivors are 70% to 89% and scores for five survivors are <70%. Actuarial survival at 5 years after transplant is 61% in group I, 47% in group II, and 26% in group III (I vII, P= .03; I vIII, P =.0001). Treatment with prednisone alone results in fewer infections and better survival than prednisone and azathioprine in standard-risk chronic GVHD. Treatment with prednisone alone is less effective in high-risk patients with thrombocytopenia, and other strategies are required. © 1988 by Grune & Stratton, Inc.