Digital polymerase chain reaction strategies for accurate and precise detection of vector copy number in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell products.

Background Aims: Vector copy number (VCN), an average quantification of transgene copies unique to a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product, is a characteristic that must be reported prior to patient administration, as high VCN increases the risk of insertional mutagenesis. Historically, VCN assessment in CAR T-cell products has been performed via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). qPCR is reliable along a broad range of concentrations, but quantification requires use of a standard curve and precision is limited.

Pharmacologic Pain Management Trends among Adults Hospitalized with Cellulitis: An Evidence-Based Practice Project.

Background: Nurses commonly administer opioids, following "as needed" order sets, to patients hospitalized for acute pain conditions like cellulitis. Practice guidelines recommend limiting opioid administration for acute pain management. At two hospitals in the Pacific Northwest, an opioid stewardship committee was formed to align with best practice.

Breast hemangiomas: correlation between imaging and pathologic findings.

Hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors that are rare in the breast. A high percentage of hemangiomas are diagnosed incidentally during imaging examinations. They have mammographic, sonographic, and pathologic characteristics that allow radiologists and pathologists to diagnose them.

Mediastinal plasmacytoma detected by echocardiography and biopsied with EUS-FNA.

Mediastinal ultrasound is currently being performed by a variety of different practioners but all need to be familiar with major pathology outside their narrow fields. We are reporting the first case where echocardiography led to the discovery of a mediastinal mass which upon endoscopic-ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) was found to be a plasmacytoma. The differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses is briefly reviewed.