Exploration of Patient and Clinician Experience of Video Consultations in Community Palliative Care.

Context: Telehealth video consultations (VCs) were implemented in the community palliative care team (CPCT) in a regional NSW health district, Australia, as a response to restrictions to the COVID-19 pandemic, using patient's device in the absence of a clinician.

Objectives: To evaluate patient/carer and clinician satisfaction in using VCs for CPC consultations; to explore advantages and challenges of VCs.

Methods: Self-reported online questionnaires to community-dwelling patients under care of the CPCT; seeking patients/carers and clinician perspectives on the VCs from April to September 2020.

Efficacy and toxicity of treatment with the anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab in patients with metastatic melanoma after prior anti-PD-1 therapy.

Background: Recent phase III clinical trials have established the superiority of the anti-PD-1 antibodies pembrolizumab and nivolumab over the anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced melanoma. Ipilimumab will be considered for second-line treatment after the failure of anti-PD-1 therapy.

Methods: We retrospectively identified a cohort of 40 patients with metastatic melanoma who received single-agent anti-PD-1 therapy with pembrolizumab or nivolumab and were treated on progression with ipilimumab at a dose of 3 mg kg(-1) for a maximum of four doses.