Effect of ultrasound-guided central venous catheter insertion on the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections and mechanical complications.

Background: Central venous catheters (CVCs) are necessary for critically ill patients, including those with hematological malignancies. However, CVC insertion is associated with inevitable risks for various adverse events. Whether ultrasound guidance decreases the risk of catheter-related infection remains unclear.

Strain-specific transmission in an outbreak of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the hemato-oncology care unit: a cohort study.

Background: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria are resistant to several types of antibiotics excluding carbapenems. A transmissibility of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae would be depending on each bacterial property, however, that has not been elucidated in clinical setting. In this study, we attempted to identify the source of an outbreak of ESBL-producing bacteria in a medical oncology and immunology care unit.

[Limited but potential efficacy by graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) for Pro T-ALL].

We present a 22-year-old male diagnosed with pro T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). His laboratory test showed 181,900/microL of WBC complicated with lymphoadenopathy, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion and hepatosplenomegaly at the onset. Flow cytometry analysis of the leukemic cells showed cCD3+, CD7+, CD2+, CD1a-, CD3-, CD5-, CD4-, CD8-, CD34+, and HLA-DR+ as a pro T-cell phenotype.

[Aggravated post-herpetic neuralgia due to bortezomib].

Bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, has been used for patients with refractory multiple myeloma. We present a 58-year old man who had IgG-gamma-type multiple myeloma, refractory for MP (melphalan-predonisolone) and VAD (vincrisitine-doxorubicin-dexamethasone) therapy. He was complicated with reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) 4 weeks before bortezomib administration.

Multivariate analysis of factors influencing oral mucositis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Little information is available regarding the effect of oral intervention on the outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of oral mucositis after allogeneic HSCT with or without oral intervention among 96 consecutive patients in our hospital between January 1988 and March 2006. We combined two oral intervention strategies: cryotherapy and oral health care.

[Topical steroid injection for refractory oral chronic graft-versus-host disease].

The standard treatment for refractory oral chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) has not been established. We present a case of AML accompanied by oral chronic GVHD in a 55-year-old man after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The stomatitis of the patient was prolonged for a year and resistant to standard immunosuppressant therapy, including systemic administration of prednisolone and tacrolimus; however, local injection of 0.

[Cryotherapy is useful and safe in the prevention of oral mucositis after high-dose melphalan (L-PAM)].

We prospectively assessed the effectiveness of cryotherapy after high-dose L-PAM to prevent oral mucositis. Cryotherapy with ice tips was commenced 15 minutes before L-PAM administration, and continued until the end of administration. Twenty-six patients were enrolled in this study.