Publications by authors named "Wille K"

While renal replacement therapy (RRT) allows for precise fluid management as well as addressing electrolyte imbalances and the removal of other necessary compounds, its early initiation has not shown benefit in the general critically ill population. Moreover, the effects of early RRT initiation specifically in patients on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) also remain unclear. This retrospective study investigated adult patients who underwent VA-ECMO between April 2018 and March 2022 and used the clone-censor-weight method to emulate a hypothetical target trial and compare two groups: patients who initiated RRT within 2 days of VA-ECMO initiation (Early) and those who did not (Late).

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  • Glofitamab, a bispecific antibody targeting CD20 and CD3, shows promise for treating relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) in heavily pretreated patients, with an overall response rate of 47%.
  • In a study involving 70 patients in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the median number of prior treatments was four, with notable safety concerns including cytokine release syndrome in 40% of cases.
  • Important findings indicate that elevated LDH levels predict poorer outcomes, and recent treatment with bendamustine may reduce the efficacy of glofitamab, suggesting careful treatment sequencing is essential.
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  • The study investigates the effectiveness of high-resolution nerve ultrasound (HRUS) in diagnosing polyneuropathy caused by the chemotherapy drug vincristine.
  • Twelve patients undergoing vincristine treatment and twelve healthy controls participated, with measurements taken at various intervals, including nerve cross-sectional areas (CSAs), neuropathy scores, and nerve conduction studies.
  • Results indicated that while overall CSA at nerve entrapment sites increased alongside clinical symptoms, HRUS did not show significant changes at individual nerve sites, highlighting that clinical exams are key for early detection of vincristine-induced polyneuropathy.
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  • Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) significantly impacts critically ill patients and contributes to high rates of illness.
  • The existing criteria for diagnosing VAP do not apply to patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
  • This study analyzes the effectiveness of current VAP criteria for ECMO patients and evaluates a new proposed standard for diagnosing pneumonia in these individuals.
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Introduction: Men are generally more susceptible to bacterial infections than women. Central venous catheters (CVCs), often used to administer systemic treatment in patients with cancer, are an important source of infection. However, little is known about sex-specific differences of CVC-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) in patients with cancer.

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The use of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) throughout the perioperative phase of lung transplantation requires nuanced planning and execution by an integrated team of multidisciplinary experts. To date, no multidisciplinary consensus document has examined the perioperative considerations of how to best manage these patients. To address this challenge, this perioperative utilization of ECLS in lung transplantation consensus statement was approved for development by the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Standards and Guidelines Committee.

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Introduction: The prognosis of patients with refractory or relapsed AML (R/R-AML) is very limited. To (re)achieve complete remission, there has recently been increasing evidence that the combination of venetoclax (VEN) with chemotherapy is associated with improved outcomes.

Patients And Methods: Our retrospective, single-center study of 53 R/R-AML patients with a median follow-up time of 11.

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Purpose: This study investigates the care provision and the role of infectious disease (ID) specialists during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: A survey was conducted at German study sites participating in the Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2 infected patients (LEOSS). Hospitals certified by the German Society of Infectious diseases (DGI) were identified as ID centers.

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Purpose: In patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, after failure of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, this trial compares the efficacy of second-line therapy with FOLFIRI vs. OFF (1:1 randomisation) with cross-over to the vice-versa regimen as third-line therapy.

Patients And Methods: The primary endpoint was PFS (progression-free survival: time from randomization until progression or death) of second-line therapy.

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Background: Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are widely used for tumor treatment, including metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). So far, there are no biomarkers that reliably predict resistance to anti-VEGF mAbs like bevacizumab. A biomarker-guided strategy for early and accurate assessment of resistance could avoid the use of non-effective treatment and improve patient outcomes.

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Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use in peripartum patients is rare, and there is a gap in the literature on the outcomes and guidance on using ECMO in peripartum patients. This study describes ECMO strategies our institution uses for peripartum patients and reports outcomes of ECMO use in peripartum patients with respiratory and/or cardiac failure.

Methods: A case series of all peripartum patients, defined as pregnant or up to 6 weeks after delivery of an infant >20 weeks gestation, from 2018 to 2023 from a single center requiring ECMO support.

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  • Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a significant cause of complications and mortality after lung transplants, and predicting its risk can help in donor selection and patient care planning.
  • Researchers created a predictive model using data from a study conducted between 2012 and 2018, which evaluated various clinical factors to forecast the risk of PGD and developed a user-friendly interface for real-time assessments.
  • The model incorporates numerous variables like distance from the donor hospital, recipient characteristics, and donor factors, showing a net benefit for decision-making in predicting PGD risk across different levels, making it a valuable tool for transplantation processes.
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Background And Purpose: The role of high-resolution nerve ultrasound (HRUS) and corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) in the early detection of taxane-induced polyneuropathy (TIPN) is unclear. The present prospective longitudinal controlled observational pilot study estimates the role of HRUS and CCM in the early diagnosis of TIPN in breast cancer patients.

Methods: Fifteen breast cancer patients receiving paclitaxel and 15 healthy age matched controls were included.

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Introduction: Active malignancies have been identified as an independent risk factor for severity and mortality in COVID-19. However, direct comparisons between SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with active (acP) and non-active cancers (n-acP) remain scarce.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of cancer patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, enrolled from March 16, 2020, to July 31, 2021.

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Arterial (ATE) and venous (VTE) thromboembolic complications are common causes of morbidity and mortality in -negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). However, there are few studies that include all MPN subtypes and focus on both MPN-associated ATE and VTE. In our single-center retrospective study of 832 MPN patients, a total of 180 first thromboembolic events occurred during a median follow-up of 6.

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In 2022, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) Academy, a 2-day conference attended yearly by an international audience of over 100 nephrology, critical care, and multidisciplinary trainees and practitioners. This year, we introduce the proceedings of the UAB CRRT Academy, a yearly review of select emerging topics in the field of critical care nephrology that feature prominently in the conference. First, we review the rapidly evolving field of non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring and its potential to guide fluid removal by renal replacement therapy (RRT).

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Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is the leading cause of early morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation. Prior studies implicated proxy-defined donor smoking as a risk factor for PGD and mortality. We aimed to more accurately assess the impact of donor smoke exposure on PGD and mortality using quantitative smoke exposure biomarkers.

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Unlabelled: Lung transplantation is a definitive therapy for many end-stage lung pathologies. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly being used as a bridge to lung transplantation (BTT). HLA sensitization is a major barrier to lung transplantation.

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Objectives: The use of remdesivir (RDV) as the first drug approved for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains controversial. Based on the Lean European Open Survey on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected patients (LEOSS), we aim to contribute timing-focused complementary real-world insights to its evaluation.

Methods: SARS-CoV-2 infected patients between January 2020 and December 2021 treated with RDV were matched 1:1 to controls considering sociodemographics, comorbidities and clinical status.

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Initial experience with lung transplant of COVID-19-positive donors was marked by disappointing results, including a reported case of mortality through donor to recipient transmission of infection. However, since that time a number of improvements in preventative and therapeutic measures against COVID-19 have been developed. We present the case of a 51-year-old woman with scleroderma-associated interstitial lung disease who was awaiting lung transplant.

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  • Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy can negatively impact both mothers and their newborns, particularly affecting those with darker skin tones who have lower vitamin D levels.
  • A study involving 202 mother-child pairs found that a significant percentage (54.5% of mothers and 41.1% of newborns) were vitamin D deficient, with higher deficiency rates in neonates of dark-skinned mothers.
  • The research indicated a strong correlation between maternal and umbilical cord blood vitamin D levels, but not for parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, highlighting the need for vitamin D supplementation for dark-skinned mothers and their infants during the first three years of life.
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Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has revolutionized the treatment of refractory cardiac and respiratory failure, and its use continues to increase, particularly in adults. However, ECMO-related morbidity and mortality remain high.

Main Text: In this review, we investigate and expand upon the current state of the art in thoracic transplant and extracorporeal life support (ELS).

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  • Establishing effective treatments for high-risk COVID-19 patients, particularly those with weakened immune systems or pre-existing conditions, is difficult due to limited options and insufficient data on therapies like convalescent plasma (CP).
  • A study analyzed 55 hospitalized patients at risk for severe disease compared to a larger group of 220 matched patients, finding no significant difference in mortality rates between those treated with CP and those who weren't.
  • The analysis suggested that early CP administration, before severe lung complications develop, may reduce mortality rates, while treatment during critical illness resulted in much higher death rates.
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Although there is strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with adverse outcomes in certain ethnic groups, the association of disease severity and risk factors such as comorbidities and biomarkers with racial disparities remains undefined. This retrospective study between March 2020 and February 2021 explores COVID-19 risk factors as predictors for patients' disease progression through country comparison. Disease severity predictors in Germany and Japan were cardiovascular-associated comorbidities, dementia, and age.

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