Use of Immunotherapy in Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States and around the world. Approximately 13% of lung cancers are small cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC is generally classified as a limited-stage and extensive-stage disease depending on the extent of involvement. For patients with the extensive-stage disease, until recently, chemotherapy alone has been the recommended treatment, although radiotherapy could be used in select patients for palliation of symptoms. The standard of care for extensive-stage SCLC is platinum doublet chemotherapy with either cisplatin or carboplatin in combination with etoposide. Even though first-line therapy has an initial response rate of 60-80%, the prognosis is poor, with overall survival of 10-12 months. The only FDA-approved second line of therapy is topotecan, approved both as an intravenous formulation as well as an oral formulation, with response rates of 6-12% in chemorefractory disease and 15-37% in chemosensitive disease. Immunotherapy has recently been approved as a first-line agent in metastatic SCLC in combination with chemotherapy. It is also approved as a third-line agent in metastatic SCLC after the failure of two chemotherapy regimens. The FDA approved four drugs, two of them being PD-1 inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab), and two of them being PD-L1 inhibitors (atezolizumab and durvalumab) in SCLC. This review article summarizes the significance of immunotherapy in the treatment of extensive-stage SCLC, its side effects, and limitations.

Life-threatening metabolic coma caused by levofloxacin.

Patients with diabetes mellitus are often susceptible to hypoglycemic episodes while on therapy. Most of these are attributed to inappropriate dosing of hypoglycemic agents, dietary indiscretion, or acute illness. Medications being used concomitantly should be reviewed closely when the etiology of hypoglycemia is unclear. A fifty-six-year-old woman with a history of diabetes mellitus (on metformin monotherapy) was found unresponsive at home. Her fingerstick glucose was 15 mg/dL for which she received 50% dextrose intravenously. The patient never had any previous documented hypoglycemic episodes. She had recently been diagnosed with pneumonia and was prescribed oral levofloxacin therapy. The patient had taken 4 doses of levofloxacin before the onset of hypoglycemia. These episodes recurred over the next 2 days needing close intensive care unit monitoring, dextrose infusion, and glucagon administration. Basic blood/urine investigations, cortisol and thyroid profile were normal except for low blood glucose and renal insufficiency (serum creatinine 1.4 mg/dL and creatinine clearance 42 mL/min). HbA1c was 6.8% (4.4%-6.4%), insulin 51.3 µU/mL (2.6-24.9 µU/mL), IGF-1 301 ng/mL (27-223 ng/mL), and C peptide 9.3 ng/mL (0.8-3.5 ng/mL). These levels were elevated but were deemed nondiagnostic because of fluctuating glucose values after glucagon administration. A blood screen for sulfonylureas and metaglinides was negative. A seventy-two-hour fast was performed to rule out hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemic syndromes; however, blood glucose values remained consistently above 120 mg/dL during this period. Thus, after exclusion of other causes, we utilized the adverse drug reaction probability scale and concluded that hypoglycemia was probably related to recent use of levofloxacin.

Bacteremia Secondary to Uncommon Gram-Negative Bacilli Transmitted From the Canine in a Patient With Multiple Myeloma.

Sphingobacterium multivorum is a gram-negative rod found in the environment and rarely associated with human infections. Sphingobacterium is the causative agent of infections in an immunocompromised host in most cases. We report a rare case of cellulitis in an immunocompromised host by Sphingobacterium multivorum.

Acute Kidney Injury in a Case Series of Patients with Confirmed COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019): Role of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 and Renin-Angiotensin System Blockade.

The renin-angiotensin system plays a very critical role in hypertension, diabetes, and kidney and heart diseases. The blockade of the renin-angiotensin system results in the prevention of progression of renal and cardiac damage. There have been controversial hypotheses raised regarding the safety of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). We present the case series of four patients (2 men and 2 women; 1 Caucasian and 3 African Americans; two survived and two died) with confirmed COVID-19, presenting with respiratory symptoms and acute kidney injury, who have been on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. Membrane-bound angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been implicated as the gateway for viral entry into the human cell in causing the infection. The factors contributing to acute kidney injury are diuretics, iodinated contrast administration, hemodynamic instability apart from ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers. The ACE inhibitors and ARBs were stopped in these patients due to acute kidney injury. We also discussed the role of ACE2 and the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade in patients with COVID-19 infection along with pathogenesis.

COVID-19 and Renal Failure: Challenges in the Delivery of Renal Replacement Therapy.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first officially reported in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China, and has since lead to a pandemic. Most cases result in minor symptoms such as cough, fever, sore throat, myalgia, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, loss of smell, and abdominal pain. As of April 8, 2020, more than 1,485,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in more than 200 countries and territories, resulting in over 90,000 deaths. Outcomes are worse in elderly patients, particularly males, and those with comorbidities, but can affect any age group. The incidence of acute kidney injury in patients with COVID-19 infection is about 3-15%; and in patients with severe infection requiring care in the intensive care unit, the rates of acute kidney injury increased significantly from 15% to 50%. Acute kidney injury is an independent risk factor for mortality in COVID-19 patients. The nephrologists, as well as intensivists, are facing immense daily challenges while providing care for these patients in the inpatient setting as well as end-stage renal disease patients on chronic dialysis in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In the current review article, we discussed the epidemiology and etiology of acute kidney injury, management of acute kidney injury including renal replacement therapy options (both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis) for inpatient floor, as well as intensive care unit settings. We also discussed the challenges faced by the outpatient dialysis units with COVID-19 infection. We discussed measures required to limit the spread of infection, as well as summarized the guidance as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Society of Nephrology (ASN), American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology (ASDIN) and the Vascular Access Society of the Americas (VASA).

Peritonitis Secondary to Uncommon Gram-Negative Coccobacillus Transmitted From a Cat in a Patient on Peritoneal Dialysis.

Peritonitis caused by gram-negative organisms is a significant complication encountered in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. There has been recognition of peritonitis caused by uncommon organisms because of improved microbiological detection techniques. In this article, we report a rare case of peritonitis caused by Pasteurella multocida. We present a 58-year-old male on peritoneal dialysis with fever and abdominal pain. The peritoneal fluid was cloudy, and the analysis was consistent with peritonitis. The peritoneal fluid culture grew Pasteurella multocida. The patient was treated with a 3-week course of intraperitoneal ceftazidime, which resulted in the resolution of infection with the salvation of the peritoneal dialysis catheter. Patient education plays a very critical role in the prevention of peritonitis from Pasteurella multocida, particularly if patients have pets at home. The domestic pets should be kept away from the dialysis equipment and should not be allowed into the room during dialysis treatment. Incorporating the education in handing pets during the training session is the key aspect.