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Nodal peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are challenging subsets of non-Hodgkin lymphomas characterized by their heterogeneity and aggressive clinical behavior. Given the mixed outcomes reported in previous studies, the efficacy of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT) as a consolidation strategy following initial chemotherapy response remains uncertain. This study aims to evaluate the impact of upfront auto-HCT consolidation on overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) among patients with nodal PTCL who achieved a complete or partial response to initial chemotherapy. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Moffitt Cancer Center, involving 123 patients with nodal PTCL treated between February 2005 and February 2021. Patients were stratified into 2 groups based on whether they received auto-HCT as part of their initial treatment strategy. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard models were used for statistical analysis to compare OS and EFS between groups. Patients undergoing auto-HCT after first response demonstrated significantly longer median OS (12.3 versus 4.3 yr; P = .035) and EFS (6.2 versus 2.2 yr; P = .003) compared to those who did not. Multivariate analyses indicated that auto-HCT at first response and younger age at diagnosis were favorable prognostic factors. The findings suggest that upfront auto-HCT consolidation can significantly improve long-term outcomes in patients with nodal PTCL, supporting the strategy of early auto-HCT consideration and referral following initial chemotherapy response. These results underscore the importance of integrating upfront auto-HCT into the treatment paradigm for nodal PTCL, emphasizing early referral to transplantation services to optimize patient outcomes., (Copyright © 2024 The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background With the advent of novel treatments, there is a declining trend in the multiple myeloma (MM) mortality rate with an increasing hospitalization rate. However, there is limited population-based data on trends and outcomes of hospitalizations due to MM in the United States (US). Methods We analyzed the publicly available Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2007 to 2017 to identify MM hospitalizations. Results Hospitalizations for MM increased from 17,100 (8.71%) in 2007 to 19,490 (9.92%) in 2017. The in-hospital mortality rate declined from 8.4% in 2007 to 4.9% in 2017 (P <0.001) and discharge to facilities decreased from 20.4% in 2007 to 17.4% in 2017 (P <0.001). The odds of in-hospital mortality were higher with increasing age (odds ratio (OR): 1.46; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38 -1.54; P <0.0001), pneumonia (OR: 4.18; 95% CI: 3.63 - 4.81, P <0.0001), septicemia (OR: 2.50; 95% CI: 2.22 - 2.82; P <0.0001), renal failure (OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.34 -1.64; P <0.0001), uninsured/self-pay insurance status (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 2.18 - 3.3; P <0.0001), rural hospital (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.88 -2.72; P<0.0001), and urban-non-teaching hospitals (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.23 - 1.56; P <0.0001). Also, increasing age (OR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.11-1.18, P <0.0001), Black race (OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.02-1.23, P <0.0001), and multiple comorbidities were associated with higher disability. Conclusion Hospitalizations for MM continued to increase, whereas in-hospital mortality continued to decrease. Advanced age, sepsis, pneumonia, and renal failure were associated with higher odds of mortality in MM patients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Khadka et al.)

Idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) is a type of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeting chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) approved for the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Currently, the incidence of cardiac events associated with ide-cel remains unclear. This was a retrospective single-center observational study of patients treated with ide-cel for RRMM. We included all consecutive patients who received standard-of-care ide-cel treatment at least 1-month follow-up. Baseline clinical risk factors, safety profile, and responses were examined based on the development of a cardiac event. A total of 78 patients were treated with ide-cel, and 11 patients (14.1%) developed cardiac events: heart failure (5.1%), atrial fibrillation (10.3%), nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (3.8%), and cardiovascular death (1.3%). Only 11 of the 78 patients had repeat echocardiogram. Baseline risk factors associated with the development of cardiac events included being female sex and having poor performance status, λ light-chain disease, and advanced Revised International Staging System stage. Baseline cardiac characteristics were not associated with cardiac events. During index hospitalization after CAR-T, higher-grade (≥grade 2) cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune cell-associated neurologic syndrome were associated with cardiac events. In multivariable analyses, the hazard ratio for the association of the presence of cardiac events with overall survival (OS) was 2.66 and progression-free survival (PFS) was 1.98. Ide-cel CAR-T for RRMM was associated with similar cardiac events as other types of CAR-T. Worse baseline performance status and higher-grade CRS and neurotoxicity were associated with cardiac events after BCMA-directed CAR-T-cell therapy. Our results suggest that the presence of cardiac events may confer worse PFS or OS; although because of the small sample size, the power to detect an association was limited., (© 2023 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.)

Abstract: We report a case of acute pancreatitis that developed after four days of remdesivir therapy in a patient being treated for COVID-19. Despite improvement in patient's respiratory status, abdominal pain worsened and clinical signs and symptoms progressed to a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis 4 days after initiation of remdesivir therapy. Withdrawal of remdesivir paired with medical management of acute pancreatitis led to the resolution of pancreatitis within three days. To our knowledge, this is the first case report depicting remdesivir as a possible cause of acute pancreatitis., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Adrenal cortical carcinoma is a rare and aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. Cases usually present with signs and symptoms of excessive hormone production. Hyperglycemia and Cushing syndrome are common, but tumor-associated hypoglycemia due to paraneoplastic secretion of insulin-like growth factor-2 (termed Anderson's syndrome) is uncommon. Given the rarity of adrenal cortical carcinoma, diagnosis and management of associated complications is challenging. In this study, we present a case of metastatic adrenal cortical carcinoma with a myriad of hormonal abnormalities. We will also briefly review literature regarding genetic association, pathophysiology, treatment options, and prognosis.

Background: It is well-known that patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease are at increased risk of pulmonary embolism than patients with normal kidney function. However, the data on trends, outcomes, and predictors of mortality in pulmonary embolism patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease in the United States are limited., Methods: We queried the National Inpatient Sample database from 2010 to 2014. International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification codes were used to identify patients with normal kidney function, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage renal disease. The frequency of pulmonary embolism, complications, in-hospital mortality, and length of stay were calculated for each cohort. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to determine the predictors of mortality., Results: In the study population (2010-2014), there were 766,176 pulmonary embolism hospitalizations with normal kidney function, 79,824 with chronic kidney disease, and 9147 with end-stage renal disease. Among the study cohorts, the mortality rate was 2.7% in normal kidney function, 4.5% in chronic kidney disease, and 6.8% in end-stage renal disease hospitalizations. Median length of stay was highest in the end-stage renal disease cohort and lowest in the normal kidney function cohort. After adjusting for confounders, pulmonary embolism patients with chronic kidney disease died 1.15 times more often than those with normal kidney function and pulmonary embolism patients with end-stage renal disease died 4.2 times more often than those with normal kidney function., Conclusion: The mortality rate and length of stay in pulmonary embolism patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease were significantly higher than those in pulmonary embolism patients with normal kidney function. Also, pulmonary embolism patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease were at higher risk of in-hospital mortality than those with normal kidney function. There was statistically significant higher risk of mortality in elderly and Black patients with pulmonary embolism and concurrent chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Background: Hypertension is a non-communicable disease and one of the most prominent modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. 7.6 million premature deaths are attributed to high blood pressure around the world. Better adherence with antihypertensive medications improves quality and length of life. This research focuses on the extent of adherence towards prescribed antihypertensive treatment, and identify factors influencing non-adherence., Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was undertaken in various health care centers (2 primary health care center and 3 hospitals) of Nepal. A total of 348 individuals (age above 30) who suffered from hypertension visiting health institutes were included in the study. Adherence was calculated using Morisky Medication Adherence scale., Results: Adherence level to the antihypertensive medication as per the morisky adherence scale, 38.8% had medium level of adherence, 37.4% had a low adherence level, and 23.9% had a high adherence level among 348 participants. From the total participants, 89 admitted to be irregular in medication use. 56% of them claimed to do so because of forgetfulness, 12.4 % because of consistent exercise and low-salt diet, 10.1% due to the lack of affordability., Conclusions: Our study had concluded that the majority of participants had medium to low levels of adherence to anti-hypertensive drugs. Forgetfulness was major cause for irregular medication. Patient education and counseling, family support also seem to be important for proper adherence to drugs. Thus, health care providers should allocate ample time in educating, counseling clients and family.

Sepsis is a global health burden that needs intensive medical care. Thrombocytopenia in sepsis is well known to increase morbidity as well as mortality. Several studies have been performed both in animal models and in humans to understand the mechanism by which sepsis causes thrombocytopenia. Recent studies have shown that inhibiting thrombocytopenia improves outcomes in sepsis patients. Understanding these mechanisms to identify targets in use of newer treatment modalities besides using resuscitation measures, antibiotics and removal of thrombocytopenia inducing agent could potentially help us improve outcomes in sepsis., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background : Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs frequently in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. There are no population-based studies from the United States (U.S.) analyzing this association. The study aims to analyze the trends, predictors of mortality, and outcomes of VTE in AML patients. Methods : We analyzed the publicly available Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for years 2010-2014. Hospitalizations due to AML were identified by previously validated International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes as the primary diagnosis. VTE was identified by ICD-9-CM codes as secondary diagnosis. Hospitalizations with age less than 18 years of age were excluded. The trends and outcomes were determined using Chi-squared (χ2) test and multivariate regression models. Results : From 2010 to 2014, there were 313,282 hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of AML and 1,633 hospitalizations (0.1%) had VTE as a concurrent diagnosis. There was a significant increase in the proportion of AML hospitalizations with VTE from 0.47% in 2010 to 0.56% in 2014 (P = 0.014). Multivariable regression analysis showed that the odds of in-hospital mortality were not higher in AML hospitalizations with VTE (odds ratio [OR] 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81-1.52; P = 0.5) than those without VTE. Age group above 84 years carried the highest risk of mortality (OR 3.20; 95% CI 2.77-3.70; P < 0.0001) in AML-VTE patients. Black (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.13-1.35; P < 0.0001) and uninsured patients (OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.31-1.73; P < 0.0001) were at significantly higher odds of in-hospital mortality amongst the AML-VTE hospitalizations. Conclusion : The proportion of AML hospitalizations with VTE continues to rise in the U.S. After adjusting for confounders, increasing age, Black race, and lack of insurance were found to have higher risk of in-hospital mortality in the AML-VTE cohort. The odds of in-hospital mortality in AML hospitalizations with VTE are not higher than those without VTE.

The management of patients with relapsed or refractory immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) remains challenging for hematologists. While there are a multitude of drugs available, it is largely an individualized management based on patient preferences, side effects, previous treatment received, and responses to them, comorbidities and cost associated with the treatment. We hereby review the newer approaches in the treatment of ITP., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of Greater Baltimore Medical Center.)

Given their ease of use, safety, and efficacy, direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are nowadays widely used in patients with atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism, with or without an association with malignancy. Andexanet alfa (andexanet) is a recombinant modified human factor Xa decoy protein that reverses the inhibition of factor Xa. After Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in May 2018, andexanet has been used for life-threatening bleeding in patients treated with apixaban or rivaroxaban. In this article, we present a single institutional retrospective review of patients receiving andexanet alfa at Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital. A total of four patients in a period of 10 months received andexanet for intracranial bleeding, 50% (2) had excellent hemostasis, 30 days mortality was 75% (3), and 25% (1) had a thromboembolic event. Anticoagulation was never started in all patients. This review tends to show the real-world utilization data of andexanet in a community hospital setting., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2020, Khadka et al.)