Publications by authors named "Colovic N"

Community-acquired respiratory viral infections (CARV) significantly impact patients with hematological malignancies (HM), leading to high morbidity and mortality. However, large-scale, real-world data on CARV in these patients is limited. This study analyzed data from the EPICOVIDEHA-EPIFLUEHA registry, focusing on patients with HM diagnosed with CARV during the 2023-2024 autumn-winter season.

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Although disseminated cryptococcosis can occur occasionally, it is most commonly seen in immunodeficient patients. In 2005, a 43-year-old man was diagnosed with polycythemia vera. Following in 2018, he experienced an unknown-cause fever and headache.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected individuals with hematological malignancies due to their weakened immune systems, resulting in higher mortality rates and severe outcomes.
  • Data from the EPICOVIDEHA registry, which compiles COVID-19 cases from these patients worldwide, was collected from 2020 to 2022, including 8,767 cases from 152 centers across 41 countries.
  • Findings show a significant drop in critical infections and overall mortality rates, but hospitalization (especially in ICU) remains a serious risk factor; vaccination is linked to better survival outcomes, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring and support for these patients.
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Patients affected by multiple myeloma (MM) have an increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and subsequent coronavirus (20)19 disease (COVID-19)-related death. The changing epidemiological and therapeutic scenarios suggest that there has been an improvement in severity and survival of COVID-19 during the different waves of the pandemic in the general population, but this has not been investigated yet in MM patients. Here we analyzed a large cohort of 1221 patients with MM and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection observed between February 2020, and August 2022, in the EPICOVIDEHA registry from 132 centers around the world.

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Objectives: Elderly patients with hematologic malignancies face the highest risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. The infection's impact on different age groups remains unstudied in detail.

Methods: We analyzed elderly patients (age groups: 65-70, 71-75, 76-80, and >80 years old) with hematologic malignancies included in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between January 2020 and July 2022.

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Introduction: Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir are antivirals used to prevent progression to severe SARS-CoV-2 infections and decrease hospitalisation and mortality rates. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was authorised in Europe in December 2021, whereas molnupiravir is not yet licensed in Europe as of February 2022. Molnupiravir may be an alternative to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir because it is associated with fewer drug-drug interactions and contraindications.

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Background: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment decreases the hospitalisation rate in immunocompetent patients with COVID-19, but data on efficacy in patients with haematological malignancy are scarce. Here, we describe the outcome of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment in a large cohort of the latter patients.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study from the multicentre EPICOVIDEHA registry (NCT04733729) on patients with haematological malignancy, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January and September 2022.

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Background: Patients with Philadelphia-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) typically incur high rates of infections and both drugs and comorbidities may modulate infection risk.

Objectives: The present study aims to assess the effect of immunosuppressive agents on clinical outcomes of MPN patients affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Design: This is an observational study.

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Background: Patients with hematological malignancies (HM) are at high risk of mortality from SARS-CoV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19). A better understanding of risk factors for adverse outcomes may improve clinical management in these patients. We therefore studied baseline characteristics of HM patients developing COVID-19 and analyzed predictors of mortality.

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The hypocellular acute leukemia is very rare atypical leukemia with frequency of 5-7% among patients with acute leukemias. It mainly occurs in older patients and usually has a myeloid phenotype. It is still unclear whether the outcome of hypocellular acute myeloid leukemia is less favorable than adult acute myeloid leukemia with normal cellularity.

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Background: Non-albicans Candida spp. are an emerging cause of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, associated with high mortality due to the challenges in diagnosis and delayed treatment.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate a cluster of healthcare-associated invasive candidiasis caused by C tropicalis and review the literature of healthcare-associated outbreaks or clusters caused by C tropicalis.

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Treatment of hairy cell leukemia (HCL) with alfa-interferon and purine analogs significantly prolongs survival in these patients. However, with life prolongation, an increased risk of secondary malignancies has been reported. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as a second malignancy after HCL treatment is extremely rare and has been reported in only 12 cases so far.

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Background: In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), apoptotic resistance of malignant B lymphocytes results, in part, from the intrinsic defects of their apoptotic machinery. These include genetic alterations and aberrant expression of many apoptosis regulators, among which the family members play a central role.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of pro-apoptotic gene expression and ratio with the clinical features of CLL patients as well as with molecular prognostic markers, namely the mutational status of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) genes and lipoprotein lipase () gene expression.

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Objective: Until recently, imatinib was the standard first-line treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The inclusion of nilotinib and dasatinib as first-line options in CML raised a debate on treatment selection. The aim of our study was to analyze predictive parameters for imatinib response as the first-line treatment of CML patients.

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Background: Mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 ( and ) genes are frequent molecular lesions in acute myeloid leukaemia with normal karyotype (AML-NK). The effects of mutations on clinical features and treatment outcome in AML-NK have been widely investigated, but only a few studies monitored these mutations during follow-up.

Patients And Methods: In our study samples from 110 adult AML-NK were studied for the presence of and mutations, their associations with other prognostic markers and disease outcome.

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Introduction: Invasive fungal infection is among the leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and economic burden for patients with acute leukemia after induction of chemotherapy. In the past few decades, the incidence of invasive fungal infection has increased dramatically. Its management has been further complicated by the increasing frequency of infection by non-Aspergillus molds (e.

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Introduction: Therapeutic bloodletting has been practiced at least 3000 years as one of the most frequent methods of treatment in general, whose value was not questioned until the 19th century, when it was gradually abandoned in Western medicine, while it is still practiced in Arabic and traditional Chinese medicine.

Content: In modern medicine bloodletting is practiced for very few indications. Its concept was modeled on the process of menstrual bleeding, for which it was believed to"purge women of bad humours.

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Introduction: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is very rarely presented with diffuse osteolytic lesions and hypercalcemia.

Case Outline: We report a 28-year-old male with the B-cell ALL who presented with extensive osteolytic lesions, bone pain, hepatosplenomegaly, and pancytopenia without circulating blasts in peripheral blood. An increased serum level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) was registered while the levels of IL-1α and IL-1β were normal.

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Introduction: Peripartum cardiomyopathy usually presents with systolic heart failure during the last months of pregnancy and up to five months postpartum. The disease is rare and can be fatal.

Case Outline: We report a 30-year-old female who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, with maturation and cytogenetic finding of t(8;21)(q22;q22),del(9)(q22) in January 2004.

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Aim: As innate immune cells natural killer (NK), NK-like T and CTLγδ are important in antitumour response in multiple myeloma (MM), the aim of this study was to investigate some functional and phenotypical characteristics of these cells in MM.

Methods: 29 patients with MM prior to therapy, in clinical stage I-III and 15 healthy controls (HCs) were investigated. Percent of immune cells in peripheral blood, NK cell activity, expression of activating (CD161) and inhibitory (CD158a, CD158b) NK cell receptors on CD3CD16 NK cells were evaluated using 51-chromium-release assay and by flow cytometry.

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