Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized cancer patients: prophylaxis failure or failure to prophylax!

Cancer patients are at higher risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Anticoagulants, when used for prophylaxis, had successfully reduced the incidence of VTE in high risk patients. Nevertheless, many registry studies have shown low compliance rate with published prophylaxis guidelines. From January 2004 through June 2008, hospital database was searched for all discharge diagnoses of cancer with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE). Prophylaxis rate for the whole group and for subgroups in relation to recent hospitalization, duration of cancer diagnosis and number of other coexisting risk factors were studied. Two hundred patients were identified; majority (91.8%) had advanced-stage cancer at time of VTE diagnosis. In addition to cancer, many patients had multiple coexisting risk factors for VTE with 137 (68.5%) patients had at least three while 71 (35.5%) had four or more. Overall, 111(55.5%) patients developed lower-extremity DVT while 52 (26%) patients developed PE, other sites accounted for 18%. Majority of the patients (72%) had VTE diagnosed within the first 12 months following cancer diagnosis. Almost three quarters of the patients (73.5%) had not received any antecedent prophylaxis. Prophylaxis rate was 23% among patients with ≥ 3 risk factors and 50% among the highest risk group with ≥ 5 risk factors. Based on our findings, majority of VTE in cancer patients occurred due to failure to offer prophylaxis, minority were due to prophylaxis failure. Meticulous quality improvement programs should be established to emphasize the importance of implementing more intensive prophylaxis among high-risk cancer patients.

The Application of Gail Model to Predict the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer among Jordanian Women.

Background and Objectives. Breast cancer has been the most common cancer affecting women in Jordan. In the process of implementing breast cancer prevention and early detection programs, individualized risk assessment can add to the cost-effectiveness of such interventions. Gail model is a widely used tool to stratify patients into different risk categories. However, concerns about its applicability across different ethnic groups do exist. In this study, we report our experience with the application of a modified version of this model among Jordanian women. METHODS: The Gail risk assessment model (RAM) was modified and used to calculate the 5-year and lifetime risk for breast cancer. Patients with known breast cancer were used to test this model. Medical records and hospital database were utilized to collect information on known risk factors. The mean calculated risk score for women tested was 0.65. This number, which corresponds to the Gail original score of 1.66, was used as a cutoff point to categorize patients as high risk. RESULTS: A total of 1786 breast cancer patients with a mean age of 50 (range: 19-93) years were included. The modified version of the Gail RAM was applied on 1213 patients aged 35-59.9 years. The mean estimated risk for developing invasive breast cancer over the following five years was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.52, 0.56), and the lifetime risk was 3.42 (95% CI: 3.30, 3.53). Only 210 (17.3%) women had a risk score >0.65 and thus categorized as high risk. First-degree family history of breast cancer was identified among 120 (57.1%) patients in this high-risk group. CONCLUSIONS: Among a group of patients with an established diagnosis of breast cancer, a modified Gail risk assessment model would have been able to stratify only 17% into the high-risk category. The family history of breast cancer contributed the most to the risk score.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation: A single-center perspective on hospital readmissions.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third most common cause in the United States of hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge. Readmissions, which are attributed to poor quality of care, are costly. We examined the factors associated with 30-day readmission in patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of COPD. Our hypothesis was that early readmissions among patients with COPD are related to patient factors rather than system or provider factors. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients discharged from our facility from June 2010 to May 2011 with a primary discharge diagnosis of COPD. Detailed patient characteristics were obtained from the electronic medical record. Patients were followed for 30 days post-discharge date. We examined the differences in baseline characteristics of patients readmitted within 30 days and those not readmitted. RESULTS: A total of 160 patients were admitted for 192 hospitalizations during the study period; 31 patients (19.4%) were readmitted within 30 days. Patients who were readmitted did not differ from those who were not readmitted of the following factors: baseline medication use, length of stay, and outpatient follow-up postdischarge. Readmitted patients were more likely to be black, to have coronary artery disease, to have a history of alcohol abuse, and to be on supplemental oxygen. Multivariate analysis showed a 2.17 odds of 30-day readmission (95% CI, 1.16-4.09) in patients with alcohol abuse, and 2.52 (95% CI, 1.18-5.38) in those on supplemental oxygen. CONCLUSION: In our study population, 19.4% of acute exacerbation COPD patients were readmitted within 30 days. Patient factors (such as alcohol abuse and advanced disease) were associated with 30-day readmission.

Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma of the tonsil and its treatment.

Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma (HCCC) is a rare neoplasm affecting mainly the minor salivary glands of the oral cavity. We describe an unusual case of HCCC involving the tonsil and its successful management. A 67-year-old Hispanic woman was discovered to have an asymptomatic right tonsillar mass on routine clinic visit that revealed HCCC on biopsy. A right radical tonsillectomy was performed and pathology confirmed HCCC with positive deep surgical margins. She declined the recommended adjuvant radiation therapy. A follow-up CT of the neck with contrast done a year later revealed a suspicious area of enhancement around the prior resection margin with regional cervical lymphadenopathy. Further workup, including biopsy, confirmed local recurrence. She was treated with definitive cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, achieving complete response. She remains without recurrence with more than 24 months of follow-up.

The impact of recently published negative erythropoiesis-stimulating agent studies on the clinical management of cancer-related anemia at a single center.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Anemia in cancer patients is common, but often under-recognized and under-treated. Erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) are widely used to prevent and treat cancer and chemo- therapy-related anemia, but recent studies suggest a negative impact on disease progression and survival associated with their use. This retrospective study describes the prevalence of anemia in cancer patients and recent trends in its management given the negative studies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All consecutive adult cancer patients (n=959) admitted to regular medical units over one year were reviewed. Patients with a hemoglobin (Hb) value <12 g/dL on admission were considered anemic. Information on the primary tumor, main reasons for admission and treatment given were collected. RESULTS: At the time of enrollment, anemia was detected in 755 (78.7%) patients. The mean Hb value for anemic patients was 9.5 g/dL. Prevalence and severity of anemia varied according to tumor type and reason for admission. The majority (68.6%) of the anemic patients were not offered treatment. The mean Hb value at which treatment was started was 8.0 g/dL. Anemia treatment was related to its severity; treatment rates were 94.4%, 32.9%, and 5.0% in patients with severe, moderate and mild anemia, respectively (P<.0001). Blood transfusion was used the most while ESAs were rarely used. Length of hospital stay was affected by the presence of anemia (7.2 days in anemic patients vs. 4.85 days in nonanemic patients) (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Blood transfusion was used the most for cancer-related anemia, while ESAs were rarely used. The majority of patients with moderate anemia were not treated, including patients on active chemotherapy. Better guidelines addressing anemia management in this subgroup of patients are highly needed.