Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease: An Update on New Treatment Options.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurs in approximately 50% of patients and remains a primary driver of non-relapse and transplant-related mortality. The best treatment remains prevention with either in vivo or ex vivo T-cell depletion, with multiple strategies used worldwide based on factors such as institution preference, ability to perform graft manipulation, and ongoing clinical trials. Predicting patients at high risk for developing severe acute GVHD based on clinical and biomarker-based criteria allows for escalation or potential de-escalation of therapy.

Management of acute promyelocytic leukemia in the setting of acute COVID-19 infection.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) often presents with significant coagulopathy which may result in both hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the initial treatment and diagnosis of APL owing to the viral infection's own associated coagulopathy. Here we report two cases of APL newly diagnosed in the setting of COVID-19 infection and considerations in their management.

Letermovir Discontinuation at Day 100 After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Is Associated With Increased CMV-Related Mortality.

Letermovir is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in CMV seropositive recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) up to day 100. Letermovir use up to day 100 after alloSCT has demonstrated a significantly lower incidence of clinically significant CMV infection (csCMVi) at 24 weeks and an overall mortality benefit as far as 48 weeks after transplantation. We report data on csCMVi incidence beyond 24 weeks and overall survival (OS) beyond 48 weeks and outcomes for patients who had a prior alloSCT, are CMV seronegative with seropositive donor (D+/R-), or are high risk (defined as those receiving haploidentical transplants, mismatched transplants, T-cell-depleted grafts, umbilical cord blood transplants, prednisone ≥1 mg/kg or equivalent steroid use, or the use of 2 or more immunosuppressants).

Multicenter comparison of high-dose cytarabine-based regimens versus liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine (CPX-351) in patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia.

Liposomal daunorubicin/cytarabine (CPX-351) gained FDA approval for secondary AML after demonstrating improved outcomes over daunorubicin and cytarabine (7 + 3). A number of study limitations prompted a comparison of safety/efficacy of CPX-351 against regimens containing a purine analogue and high-dose cytarabine (HIDAC). This retrospective study compared complete response rates with/without count recovery (CR/CRi) between HIDAC-based regimens and CPX-351 in 169 patients with newly diagnosed sAML.

Right Heart Failure While on Left Ventricular Assist Device Support Is Associated with Primary Graft Dysfunction.

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a potentially devastating complication of heart transplantation. Understanding the risk factors for PGD in the modern era of heart transplantation is of vital importance. This study investigated the relationship between post-left ventricular assist device (LVAD) right heart failure (RHF) and transplant outcomes.

Pharmacy resident publication success: factors of success based on abstracts from a regional meeting.

Objective: To determine the publication rate among pharmacy resident research projects in a region of the United States and to compare characteristics of published and unpublished projects.

Methods: Research project abstracts from the Great Lakes Pharmacy Residency Conference in 2003, 2005, and 2007 were reviewed. Two independent investigators collected all study data.