Clinical and Cancer-Related Predictors for Venous Thromboembolism in Cancer Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department.

Background: The accurate detection of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) can avoid unnecessary diagnostic imaging or laboratory tests.

Objective: We sought to determine clinical and cancer-related risk factors of VTE that can be used as predictors for oncology patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with suspected VTE.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all consecutive patients who presented with suspicion of VTE to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ED between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2013.

Adverse Effects of Immune Checkpoint Therapy in Cancer Patients Visiting the Emergency Department of a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Study Objective: Cancer immunotherapy is evolving rapidly and is transforming cancer care. During the last decade, immune checkpoint therapies have been developed to enhance the immune response; however, specific adverse effects related to autoimmunity are increasingly apparent. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap related to the spectrum of immune-related adverse effects among cancer patients visiting emergency departments (EDs).

Efficacy and safety of daptomycin in the treatment of Gram-positive catheter-related bloodstream infections in cancer patients.

Excessive vancomycin usage has contributed to the emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and a high vancomycin minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) >1.0 microg/mL has been associated with poor outcome in patients with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. In view of these limitations, there is a need for an alternative agent.

Legionella pneumonia in cancer patients.

Legionella is an important cause of nosocomial and community-acquired pneumonia in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patients worldwide; however, the clinical course and optimal antibiotic therapy of Legionella pneumonia (LP) in patients with cancer is uncertain. We studied retrospectively the risk factors, clinical manifestations, and outcome of 49 cancer patients with a positive Legionella culture or direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) over a 13-year period (1991-2003). The majority of patients (82%) had an underlying hematologic malignancy, and 37% were bone marrow transplant recipients; 80% of the patients had active malignancy.

Rapidly growing mycobacteria: clinical and microbiologic studies of 115 cases.

We analyzed clinical and microbiologic features of 115 cases involving rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) isolated at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (2000-2005) and identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing analysis.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis active infection misdiagnosed as cancer: Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease in patients at a Comprehensive Cancer Center (2001-2005).

Background: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is an uncommon disease in the U.S., even in immunosuppressed cancer patients.

Clinical significance and epidemiologic analyses of Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare among patients without AIDS.

The clinical significance and prevalence of Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare were analyzed in a cohort of 7,472 patients who, from 1999 to 2003, sought care at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and had cultures performed for mycobacteria.

West Nile encephalitis in 2 hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: case series and literature review.

Most human cases of West Nile virus infection are acquired via bites from an infected mosquito. In some cases, infection may also be transmitted by infected blood products or transplanted organs. There have been recent publications suggesting that chemotherapy and immunosuppression may increase a person's risks of developing central nervous system disease if the person is infected with the West Nile virus.

Treatment of febrile neutropenic patients with cancer who require hospitalization: a prospective randomized study comparing imipenem and cefepime.

Background: The objective of the current study was to compare the efficacy and safety of imipenem and cefepime in the treatment of adult patients with cancer who had fever and neutropenia requiring hospitalization according to Infectious Disease Society of America criteria.

Methods: In the current prospective randomized clinical trial at a university-affiliated tertiary cancer center, adult patients with cancer who had fever (> or = 38.3 degrees C or > or = 38.