Remote Advance Care Planning in the Emergency Department During COVID-19 Disaster: Program Development and Initial Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic caused an unprecedented surge of patients presenting to emergency departments and forced hospitals to adapt to provide care to patients safely and effectively. The purpose here was to disseminate a novel program developed under disaster conditions to address advance care planning communications. METHODS: A program development and initial evaluation was conducted for the Remote Goals of Care program, which was created for families to communicate patient goals of care and reduce responsibilities of those in the emergency department. RESULTS: This program facilitated 64 remote goals of care conversation, with 72% of conversations taking place remotely with families of patients who were unable to participate. These conversations included discussions of patient preferences for care, including code status, presence of caregivers or surrogates, understanding of diagnosis and prognosis, and hospice care. Initially, this program was available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, with gradual reduction in hours as needs shifted. Seven nurses who were unable to work in corona-positive environments but were able to continue working remotely were utilized. Lessons learned include the need for speed and agility of response and the benefit of established relationships between traditionally siloed specialties. Additional considerations include available technology for patients and families and expanding the documentation abilities for remote nurses. A logic model was developed to support potential program replication at other sites. DISCUSSION: Upon initial evaluation, Remote Goals of Care Program was well received and demonstrated promise in decanting the responsibility of goals of care discussions from the emergency department to a calmer, remote setting. In future iterations, additional services and technology adjustments can be made to make this program more accessible to more patients and families. Other facilities may wish to replicate our Remote Goals of Care Program described here.

Epstein-Barr virus reactivation influences clonal evolution in human herpesvirus-8-related lymphoproliferative disorders.

BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV8) is a lymphotropic virus associated with different lymphoproliferative disorders, including primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD), diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, not otherwise specified, and the rare entity known as germinotropic lymphoproliferative disorder (GLPD). In PELs and GLPD the neoplastic cells also contain Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). In addition, occasional cases with atypical and overlapping features among these entities have been recognised, suggesting that the spectrum of the HHV8-related lesions may not be fully characterised. AIMS: Here, we report two cases of lymphoproliferative disorder associated with HHV8 and EBV that further expand the spectrum of HHV8/EBV-positive lymphoproliferative disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Case 1 represented HHV8/EBV-positive extracavitary nodal PEL followed by pleural PEL. The striking characteristic of this case was the almost focal and intrasinusoidal localisation of the neoplastic cells and the association with Castleman's disease features. In the second case, we found the entire spectrum of HHV8-related disorders, i.e. MCD, GLPD, and PEL, coexisting in the same lymph node, underlining the variability, possible overlap and evolution among these entities. Both cases were well analysed with immunohistochemistry, determination of the EBV latency programme, and molecular analysis for clonality of immnoglobulin genes. In both patients, the disease followed an unexpected indolent course, both being still alive after 8 and 12 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings represent further evidence of the overlap among HHV8/EBV-positive lymphoproliferative disorders, and underline a grey zone that requires further study; they further confirm the experimental evidence that lytic EBV replication influences HHV8-related tumorigenesis.

Frequent traces of EBV infection in Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas classified as EBV-negative by routine methods: expanding the landscape of EBV-related lymphomas.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is linked to various B-cell lymphomas, including Burkitt lymphoma (BL), classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) at frequencies ranging, by routine techniques, from 5 to 10% of cases in DLBCL to >95% in endemic BL. Using higher-sensitivity methods, we recently detected EBV traces in a few EBV-negative BL cases, possibly suggesting a "hit-and-run" mechanism. Here, we used routine and higher-sensitivity methods (qPCR and ddPCR for conserved EBV genomic regions and miRNAs on microdissected tumor cells; EBNA1 mRNA In situ detection by RNAscope) to assess EBV infection in a larger lymphoma cohort [19 BL, 34 DLBCL, 44 cHL, 50 follicular lymphomas (FL), 10 T-lymphoblastic lymphomas (T-LL), 20 hairy cell leukemias (HCL), 10 mantle cell lymphomas (MCL)], as well as in several lymphoma cell lines (9 cHL and 6 BL). qPCR, ddPCR, and RNAscope consistently documented the presence of multiple EBV nucleic acids in rare tumor cells of several cases EBV-negative by conventional methods that all belonged to lymphoma entities clearly related to EBV (BL, 6/9 cases; cHL, 16/32 cases; DLBCL, 11/30 cases), in contrast to fewer cases (3/47 cases) of FL (where the role of EBV is more elusive) and no cases (0/40) of control lymphomas unrelated to EBV (HCL, T-LL, MCL). Similarly, we revealed traces of EBV infection in 4/5 BL and 6/7 HL cell lines otherwise conventionally classified as EBV negative. Interestingly, additional EBV-positive cases (1 DLBCL, 2 cHL) relapsed as EBV-negative by routine methods while showing EBNA1 expression in rare tumor cells by RNAscope. The relapse specimens were clonally identical to their onset biopsies, indicating that the lymphoma clone can largely loose the EBV genome over time but traces of EBV infection are still detectable by high-sensitivity methods. We suggest EBV may contribute to lymphoma pathogenesis more widely than currently acknowledged.

Correction: Frequent traces of EBV infection in Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas classified as EBV-negative by routine methods: expanding the landscape of EBV-related lymphomas.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Monomolecular G-quadruplex structures with inversion of polarity sites: new topologies and potentiality.

In this paper, we report investigations, based on circular dichroism, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electrophoresis methods, on three oligonucleotide sequences, each containing one 3'-3' and two 5'-5' inversion of polarity sites, and four G-runs with a variable number of residues, namely two, three and four (mTG2T, mTG3T and mTG4T with sequence 3'-TGnT-5'-5'-TGnT-3'-3'-TGnT-5'-5'-TGnT-3' in which n = 2, 3 and 4, respectively), in comparison with their canonical counterparts (TGnT)4 (n = 2, 3 and 4). Oligonucleotides mTG3T and mTG4T have been proven to form very stable unprecedented monomolecular parallel G-quadruplex structures, characterized by three side loops containing the inversion of polarity sites. Both G-quadruplexes have shown an all-syn G-tetrad, while the other guanosines adopt anti glycosidic conformations. All oligonucleotides investigated have shown a noteworthy antiproliferative activity against lung cancer cell line Calu 6 and colorectal cancer cell line HCT-116 p53-/-. Interestingly, mTG3T and mTG4T have proven to be mostly resistant to nucleases in a fetal bovine serum assay. The whole of the data suggest the involvement of specific pathways and targets for the biological activity.

The "Janus face" of the thrombin binding aptamer: Investigating the anticoagulant and antiproliferative properties through straightforward chemical modifications.

BACKGROUND: The thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) is endowed with both anticoagulant and antiproliferative activities. Its chemico-physical and/or biological properties can be tuned by the site-specific replacement of selected residues. METHODS: Four oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) based on the TBA sequence (5'-GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG-3') and containing 2'-deoxyuridine (U) or 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (B) residues at positions 4 or 13 have been investigated by NMR and CD techniques. Furthermore, their anticoagulant (PT assay) and antiproliferative properties (MTT assay) have been tested and compared with two further ODNs containing 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (H) residues in the same positions, previously investigated. RESULTS: The CD and NMR data suggest that all the investigated ODNs are able to form G-quadruplexes strictly resembling that of TBA. The introduction of B residues in positions 4 or 13 increases the melting temperature of the modified aptamers by 7 °C. The replacement of thymidines with U in the same positions results in an enhanced anticoagulant activity compared to TBA, also at low ODN concentration. Although all ODNs show antiproliferative properties, only TBA derivatives containing H in the positions 4 and 13 lose the anticoagulant activity and remarkably preserve the antiproliferative one. CONCLUSIONS: All ODNs have shown antiproliferative activities against two cancer cell lines but only those with U and B are endowed with anticoagulant activities similar or improved compared to TBA. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: The appropriate site-specific replacement of the residues in the TT loops of TBA with commercially available thymine analogues is a useful strategy either to improve the anticoagulant activity or to preserve the antiproliferative properties by quenching the anticoagulant ones.

Evaluating the Emergency Department Observation Unit for the management of hyperglycemia in adults.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether hyperglycemic patients can be successfully managed in the Emergency Department Observation Unit (EDOU), as determined by the frequency of inpatient admission following their EDOU stay. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of patients≥18years presenting to an academic tertiary care ED between May 1, 2014 and May 31, 2016, found to have a glucose≥300mg/dL, and selected for EDOU admission. Patient demographic information, lab results including an HbA1c, disposition, and hospital revisits within 30days of discharge were recorded. RESULTS: There were 124 EDOU patients meeting criteria. A total of 98/124 (79.0%) had a history of type 1 or 2 diabetes, and 26/124 (21.0%) were newly diagnosed with diabetes in the EDOU. The mean initial ED serum glucose was 467±126mg/dL. Of the 119 patients with HbA1c analyzed, the mean value was 12.1±2.2% (109±24mmol/mol) and in 112/119 (94.1%) the level was ≥9.0% (75mmol/mol). Overall, 104/124 (83.9%) were discharged from the EDOU, 18/124 (14.5%) were admitted to the inpatient service, and 2/124 (1.6%) left the EDOU against medical advice. A total of 7/124 (5.6%) patients returned to the ED within 30days of discharge with hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, or diabetic ketoacidosis, 6/7 (85.7%) of whom had been discharged from the EDOU. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest hyperglycemic patients selected by ED physicians can be managed in the EDOU setting. Nearly all patients managed in the EDOU for hyperglycemia had an HbA1c≥9.0%, suggesting unrecognized or poorly controlled chronic diabetes as the basis for hyperglycemia.

Distinct Viral and Mutational Spectrum of Endemic Burkitt Lymphoma.

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is primarily found in children in equatorial regions and represents the first historical example of a virus-associated human malignancy. Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and MYC translocations are hallmarks of the disease, it is unclear whether other factors may contribute to its development. We performed RNA-Seq on 20 eBL cases from Uganda and showed that the mutational and viral landscape of eBL is more complex than previously reported. First, we found the presence of other herpesviridae family members in 8 cases (40%), in particular human herpesvirus 5 and human herpesvirus 8 and confirmed their presence by immunohistochemistry in the adjacent non-neoplastic tissue. Second, we identified a distinct latency program in EBV involving lytic genes in association with TCF3 activity. Third, by comparing the eBL mutational landscape with published data on sporadic Burkitt lymphoma (sBL), we detected lower frequencies of mutations in MYC, ID3, TCF3 and TP53, and a higher frequency of mutation in ARID1A in eBL samples. Recurrent mutations in two genes not previously associated with eBL were identified in 20% of tumors: RHOA and cyclin F (CCNF). We also observed that polyviral samples showed lower numbers of somatic mutations in common altered genes in comparison to sBL specimens, suggesting dual mechanisms of transformation, mutation versus virus driven in sBL and eBL respectively.

Backbone modified TBA analogues endowed with antiproliferative activity.

BACKGROUND: The thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) is endowed with antiproliferative properties but its potential development is counteracted by the concomitant anticoagulant activity. METHODS: Five oligonucleotides (ODNs) based on TBA sequence (GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG) and containing l-residues or both l-residues and inversion of polarity sites have been investigated by NMR and CD techniques for their ability to form G-quadruplex structures. Furthermore, their anticoagulant (PT assay) and antiproliferative properties (MTT assay), and their resistance in fetal bovine serum have been tested. RESULTS: CD and NMR data suggest that the investigated ODNs are able to form right- and left-handed G-quadruplex structures. All ODNs do not retain the anticoagulant activity characteristic of TBA but are endowed with a significant antiproliferative activity against two cancerous cell lines. Their resistance in biological environment after six days is variable, depending on the ODN. CONCLUSIONS: A comparison between results and literature data suggests that the antiproliferative activity of the TBA analogues investigated could depends on two factors: a) biological pathways and targets different from those already identified or proposed for other antiproliferative G-quadruplex aptamers, and b) the contribution of the guanine-based degradation products. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Modified TBA analogues containing l-residues and inversion of polarity sites lose the anticoagulant activity but gain antiproliferative properties against two cancer cell lines. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "G-quadruplex" Guest Editor: Dr. Concetta Giancola and Dr. Daniela Montesarchio.

Combining transtracheal catheter oxygenation and needle-based Seldinger cricothyrotomy into a single, sequential procedure.

BACKGROUND: Needle-based cricothyrotomy is a common procedure for emergency department patients requiring an emergent surgical airway. Percutaneous transtracheal jet ventilation is well studied to provide oxygenation. We propose to combine these procedures into a novel, single, and sequential procedure. METHODS: This study was a prospective manikin/human cadaver procedural feasibility study performed at a medical education center. Forty-eight emergency medicine attending physicians and fellows performed the procedure on a single TraumaMan (Simulab Corporation, Seattle, WA), and 26 were randomly selected to perform the procedure on fresh, unfixed human cadavers. The procedure is as follows: 15 gauge/6F catheter-over-needle punctures cricothyroid membrane, needle is removed, and Enk oxygen flow modulator is attached to the catheter (start to oxygenation). The Enk set is detached, a guide wire introduced, and Seldinger cricothyrotomy is performed (oxygenation to cricothyrotomy). Start-to-oxygenation, oxygenation-to-cricothyrotomy, and start-to-cricothyrotomy times were recorded. Manikin procedures were verified by direct visualization, and cadaver procedures were verified by video laryngoscopy. RESULTS: All attempts were included in data analysis, and there was a 100% first-pass success rate. For the manikin trials, median start-to-oxygenation, oxygenation-to-cricothyrotomy, and start-to-cricothyrotomy times with interquartile ranges were 11 (8.5-13), 48 (42-57), and 59 (53-69) seconds, respectively. For the cadaver trials, median start-to-oxygenation, oxygenation-to-cricothyrotomy, and start-to-cricothyrotomy times with interquartile ranges were 12 (10-15), 59 (47-76), and 71 (61-94) seconds, respectively. Student t tests showed significant differences in start-to-oxygenation and oxygenation-to-cricothyrotomy times (P < .01) within the manikin and cadaver groups. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous transtracheal jet ventilation and needle-based Seldinger cricothyrotomy can be performed by emergency medicine physicians, and a single, sequential procedure may significantly reduce time to oxygenation for patients already undergoing surgical cricothyrotomy.

Lack of allelic exclusion by secondary rearrangements of tumour B-cell receptor light chains in hairy cell leukaemia.

Analyses of the tumour immunoglobulin (Ig) gene (IG) heavy (H) and light chains show heterogeneity of mutational status, but reveal common features of ongoing IGH isotype-switching with multiple IGH isotype expression and preference of IG lambda (IGL) light chain with selective use of IGLJ3. Phenotypic and immunogenetic analyses were performed in a series of 105 HCL patients to estimate prevalence of multiple IG light chain expression by the tumour cells. By phenotype, 3/105 HCL (2.9%) expressed double tumour-related Ig kappa (K) and L light chain proteins. By immunogenetic analysis, functional mutated double IGK(I) /IGK(II) , IGK(I) /IGL(I) and IGL(I) /IGL(II) transcripts were cloned and sequenced in 3/71 (4.2%) HCL. These latter three HCL expressed multiple IGH isotypes with mutated IGHVDJ rearrangements at the time of AID transcript expression. Most interestingly, the three cases had reinduced RAG1 transcript. In the double IGL expresser, single-cell analysis documented co-expression of the tumour-related IGLs in 5/6 cells (83%). In the IGK/IGL co-expresser, evidence of surface IgK/IgL isotype proteins confirmed functionality of the tumour-derived transcripts. The evidence of double light chain expression in single HCs and the new observation of RAG re-induction suggest ongoing selective influences on the BCR that may promote or maintain the HCL clone in the periphery.

Dissemination of geriatric emergency department accreditation in a large health system.

The population of older adults in the United States is expanding rapidly. With this expansion, the healthcare system, and emergency departments (EDs) in particular, should provide geriatric-focused care tailored to the needs of this population. To this end, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released a geriatric emergency department accreditation (GEDA) to certify EDs that have the staffing, training, and resources to provide high-quality, geriatric-focused, emergent care. Our healthcare system set out to achieve the GEDA at all system hospitals using a service-line approach and standardized policies. The implementation and application process was completed through strong partnerships between the Emergency Medicine Service Line and the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Further partnerships with ACEP were vital to completing the application process and using a standardized application. Through these partnerships, all 17 of our system hospitals achieved tier 3 accreditation. Through this process, we were able to identify opportunities to improve the care provided to older adults in the ED, particularly via staff education. We also gathered lessons learned for system-level accreditation, including fostering close partnerships, meeting the unique needs of each ED, and strategically planning when and where to increase tier levels. This practice of large-scale, system-wide standardization, rather than individual site implementation, is an effective measure to provide geriatric-focused care to the large and growing population of older adults.

Correction to: IGHV mutational status of nodal marginal zone lymphoma by NGS reveals distinct pathogenic pathways with different prognostic implications.

This error was caused due to the author's oversight and this does not change the views or the results presented in the manuscript.

IGHV mutational status of nodal marginal zone lymphoma by NGS reveals distinct pathogenic pathways with different prognostic implications.

The precise B cell of origin and molecular pathogenesis of nodal marginal zone lymphoma (NMZL) remain poorly defined. To date, due to the rarity of NMZL, the vast majority of already-published studies have been conducted on a limited number of samples and the technical approach to analyze the immunoglobulin genes was of amplifying rearranged variable region genes with the classical direct sequencing of the PCR products followed by cloning. Here, we studied the B cell Ig heavy-chain repertoires by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in 30 NMZL cases. Most of the cases were mutated (20/28; 71.5%) with homologies to the respective germ line genes ranging from 85 to 97, 83%, whereas 8/28 (28.5%) were unmutated. In addition, our results show that NMZL cases have a biased usage of specific immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (IGHV) region genes. Moreover, we documented intraclonal diversity in all (100%) of the mutated cases and ongoing somatic hypermutations (SHM) have been confirmed by hundreds of reads. We analyzed the mutational pattern to detect and quantify antigen selection pressure and we found a positive selection in 4 cases, whereas in the remaining cases there was an unspecific stimulation. Finally, the disease-specific survival and the progression-free survival were significantly different between cases with mutated and unmutated IGHV genes, pointing out mutational status as a possible new biomarker in NMZL.

Investigating the properties of TBA variants with twin thrombin binding domains.

In this paper, we report studies concerning thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) dimeric derivatives in which the 3'-ends of two TBA sequences have been joined by means of linkers containing adenosine or thymidine residues and/or a glycerol moiety. CD and electrophoretic investigations indicate that all modified aptamers are able to form G-quadruplex domains resembling that of the parent TBA structure. However, isothermal titration calorimetry measurements of the aptamer/thrombin interaction point to different affinities to the target protein, depending on the type of linker. Consistently, the best ligands for thrombin show anticoagulant activities higher than TBA. Interestingly, two dimeric aptamers with the most promising properties also show far higher resistances in biological environment than TBA.