In COVID-19 Patients Supported with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, Intensive Care Unit Mortality Is Associated with the Blood Transfusion Rate.

: The COVID-19 pandemic markedly increased the number of patients with infection-related acute respiratory distress syndrome who required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and multiple blood transfusions. This study aimed to assess a potential correlation between the daily rate of transfused blood products and the intensive care unit (ICU) outcome of ECMO-supported COVID-19 patients. : Data were retrieved from the electronic databases of three Israeli tertiary care centers.

In patients with follicular lymphoma, delayed-onset neutropenia induced by anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies frequently occurs during maintenance therapy and is preferentially associated with obinutuzumab.

The prevalence of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-associated delayed-onset neutropenia (DON) varies between 8 and 27%. Despite the wide use of MoAbs as maintenance in follicular lymphoma (FL), data regarding DON occurrence and clinical consequences are limited. This study assessed DON prevalence, severity and risk factors in FL patients during maintenance.

Routine maternal ABO/Rhesus D blood typing can alert of massive foetomaternal haemorrhage.

Background And Objectives: Spontaneous massive foetomaternal haemorrhage (SM-FMH) is a rare yet critical condition that poses substantial risk to foetal health and survival. Existing data indicate that many cases may be undiagnosed. The current study aimed to investigate and validate the utility of identifying mixed field red blood cell (RBC) agglutination during maternal blood typing as a diagnostic aid for SM-FMH.

Survival outcomes and healthcare utilization between immigrant patients and Danish-born patients with hematological cancers: a Danish population-based study.

Overall survival (OS) for patients with a hematological cancer may differ between immigrant and Danish-born patients due to disparities in socioeconomic status, health literacy, and language proficiency. This cohort study aimed to investigate survival and hospitalization according to immigrant status while controlling for confounders. Patients with newly diagnosed hematological cancer in 2000-2020 were identified in the Danish nationwide hematological registers and stratified into Danish-born, Western, and non-Western patients.

Treatment Strategies in Advanced-Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma.

The last 3 decades have witnessed a major evolution in the treatment of advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The most prominent of these developments include the introduction of the international prognostic scoring (IPS) system; therapeutic decision-making based on both IPS and interim PET/CT data; the finding that a negative interim PET/CT result could be safely used for treatment de-escalation; the introduction of intensive combination chemotherapy like escalated BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, oncovin (vincristine), procarbazine, and prednisone); and further modification of this protocol with the incorporation of a conjugated anti-CD30 antibody brentuximab vedotin (BV) into first-line regimens, like BV-AVD (BV+ adriamycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine) and BrECADD (brentuximab vedotin, etoposide, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, dacarbazine, and dexamethasone). The accruing data about the toxicity of the escalated BEACOPP protocol have led to decreasing the number of therapeutic cycles, substitution of toxic agents like procarbazine with dacarbazine (e.

Cardiovascular outcomes in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia on lipoprotein apheresis initiated during childhood: long-term follow-up of an international cohort from two registries.

Background: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) is a rare genetic disease characterised by extremely high plasma LDL cholesterol from birth, causing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at a young age. Lipoprotein apheresis in combination with lipid-lowering drugs effectively reduce LDL cholesterol, but long-term health outcomes of such treatment are unknown. We aimed to investigate the long-term cardiovascular outcomes associated with lipoprotein apheresis initiated in childhood or adolescence.

Charting a path forward: Promising outcomes of convalescent plasma therapy in the care of severely B-cell depleted patients with persistent COVID-19.

Background: Patients with severe B-cell depletion related to hematological malignancies or B-cell targeted therapy suffer from impaired antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and are at risk for prolonged COVID-19. In this population, COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) may provide passive immunity, enhance immune response, and promote virus neutralization. This study evaluated outcomes of B-cell depleted patients with persistent COVID-19 treated with CCP.

Clinical practice recommendations on lipoprotein apheresis for children with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: an expert consensus statement from ERKNet and ESPN.

Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia is a life-threatening genetic condition, which causes extremely elevated LDL-C levels and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease very early in life. It is vital to start effective lipid-lowering treatment from diagnosis onwards. Even with dietary and current multimodal pharmaceutical lipid-lowering therapies, LDL-C treatment goals cannot be achieved in many children.

The impact of CHOP versus bendamustine on bone mineral density in patients with indolent lymphoma enrolled in the GALLIUM study.

Standard CHOP treatment includes a high cumulative dose of prednisone, and studies have shown increased fracture risk following CHOP. It is unclear whether reductions in bone mineral density (BMD) are caused by glucocorticoids or by the combination with chemotherapy. Our objective was to determine the effect of obinutuzumab (G)/rituximab (R)-bendamustine versus G/R-CHOP on BMD in follicular lymphoma patients.

Intravenous iron administration before cardiac surgery reduces red blood cell transfusion in patients without anaemia.

Background: Reducing the need for blood transfusion among patients undergoing cardiac surgery FLA reduce postoperative complications and mortality. Our study aimed to assess the effects of administering preoperative i.v.

Reduction of the Vertebral Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma Correlates with Their Age and the Treatment Regimen They Received.

Nowadays, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has become highly curable. The young age at diagnosis and long life expectancy emphasize the importance of preventing long-term treatment side effects, including bone mineral density (BMD) loss, in these patients. We aimed to evaluate the effects of first-line therapeutic modalities on BMD dynamics in HL patients, intending to identify individuals at risk for osteopenia.

The presence of a bulky mediastinal mass of 7 cm or greater in diameter confers an adverse prognosis to patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma in case of negative interim PET/CT.

In the PET-adapted therapy era, a bulky mediastinal mass (BMM) is not considered a risk factor in patients with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The current retrospective study aimed to estimate the prognostic significance of BMM presence and size for disease-free survival (DFS) and determine the most accurate mass size cutoff (among 5 cm, 7 cm, 10 cm) to predict inferior DFS in such patients. The study included 196 advanced-HL patients treated at Rambam ( = 121) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ( = 75) between 2002 and 2016.

Limiting surveillance imaging for patients with lymphoma in remission: a mixed methods study leading to a Choosing Wisely recommendation.

Background: Under the 'Choosing Wisely' (CW) framework, professional organisations internationally have advocated limiting imaging for asymptomatic patients following curative cancer therapy, based on limited value and high cost. F18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-CT (PET/CT) was widely adopted locally for surveillance lymphoma imaging after 2004.

Objectives: Prior to ratification of a local CW recommendation to limit surveillance imaging in lymphoma, we aimed to assess: (A) performance characteristics of surveillance FDG-PET/CT; (B) rates, clinical consequences and costs of false positives (FP); and (C) patients and professionals' attitudes towards overuse.

Two distinct prognostic groups in advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma revealed by the presence and site of bulky disease.

Controversy exists regarding the definition and prognostic significance of bulk in advanced-stage (stage III/IV) Hodgkin lymphoma (ASHL), and bulk location (mediastinum vs other sites) further complicated the setting. This retrospective, multi-institutional study comprised 814 ASHL patients between 2000 and 2010 and aimed to evaluate the significance of bulk in ASHL. End points of interest included progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Pregnancy and non-pregnancy related immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in women of reproductive age.

Pregnancy is a precipitating factor for immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP). We compared the clinical course and outcomes of iTTP in women of reproductive age, between those with pregnancy- and non-pregnancy-related iTTP. A review of all reproductive-aged women diagnosed with iTTP during 2010-2019 in seven university hospitals in Israel.

CpG methylation in cell-free Epstein-Barr virus DNA in patients with EBV-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with a variety of tumors and nonmalignant conditions. Latent EBV genomes in cells, including tumor cells, are often CpG methylated, whereas virion DNA is not CpG methylated. We demonstrate that methyl CpG binding magnetic beads can be used to fractionate among sources of EBV DNA (DNA extracted from laboratory-purified virions vs DNA extracted from latently infected cell lines).

Practice of lipoprotein apheresis and short-term efficacy in children with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: Data from an international registry.

Background And Aims: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH) may cause life-threatening atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in childhood. Lipoprotein apheresis (LA) is considered a pivotal treatment option, but data on its efficacy, safety and optimal performance are limited. We therefore established an international registry on the execution and outcomes of LA in HoFH children.

Recognizing severe fatigue and decline in quality of life in Hodgkin lymphoma survivors.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is common in young adults and considered curable in most patients. Young HL survivors (HLS) are at risk of long-term adverse effects. Our study aimed to assess various fatigue and quality of life (QoL) complaints, and their correlations with treatment.

Addition of high-dose methotrexate to standard treatment for patients with high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma contributes to improved freedom from progression and survival but does not prevent central nervous system relapse.

Combination of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (R-CHOP) is regarded as standard care for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and upfront intensification of therapy is still controversial. The current study aimed to dertermine whether the addition of high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) affects long-term outcomes and could also prevent central nervous system (CNS) relapse. Medical records of 480 patients with DLBCL treated between 1994 and 2013 at Rambam and Hadassah medical centers in Israel were reviewed; 130 (27%) had received HDMTX.