Clinical characteristics and risk factors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children with severe infection during maintenance treatment.

BACKGROUND: Infection is the most common adverse event of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment and is also one of the main causes of death. METHODS: To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors of severe infections during the maintenance phase of ALL treatment, we conducted a retrospective study. RESULTS: A total of 181 children were eligible and 46 patients (25.4%) suffered from 51 events of severe infection, most of which occurred in the first half year of the maintenance phase (52.9%). The most common infection was pulmonary infection (86.3%) followed by bloodstream infection (19.6%). The main symptoms of ALL patients with pulmonary infection were fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The main manifestations of computer tomography (CT) were ground glass shadow (56.8%), consolidation shadow (27.3%), and streak shadow (25%). Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that agranulocytosis, agranulocytosis ≥7 days, anemia, and low globulin level were independent risk factors for severe infection during the maintenance phase (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, blood routine examinations and protein levels should be monitored regularly for ALL patients in the maintenance phase, especially in the first 6 months. For ALL patients with risk factors, preventive anti-infective or supportive therapies can be given as appropriate to reduce the occurrence of severe infections.

Efficacy and Safety of the PD-1 Inhibitor Combined with Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel and Nedaplatin in Preoperative Neoadjuvant Therapy of Unresectable Stage III Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy and safety of preoperative neoadjuvant therapy (PD-1 inhibitor plus nab-PTX and nedaplatin) for resectable stage III lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients. Methods: Patients with locally advanced lung SCC (stage IIIA, IIIB) who received PD-1 inhibitor combined with nab-PTX and NED between February 2019 and June 2021 in Weihai Municipal Hospital were included and underwent surgical treatment 4 weeks after 2-4 cycles neoadjuvant therapy. The rate of resection R0, the effective rate, the complete pathological remission rate (pCR) and the rate of major pathological remission (MPR) were observed. Results: A total of 14 initially unresectable male patients with lung SCC were included and received neoadjuvant treatment after evaluation. Nine out of 14 patients (64.3%) experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAE), among which 8 (57.1%) experienced grade (G) I-II TRAEs including nausea, vomiting, fatigue, constipation, elevated ALT and AST, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, rash, granulocytopenia, and thrombocytopenia, and 1 (7.1%) experienced grade III-V TRAEs (G), including granulocytopenia and atelectasis. Thirteen patients (92.86%) achieved RECIST-assessed partial remission (PR), while 1 patient (7.14%) achieved stable disease (SD) on imaging assessment after neoadjuvant treatment and continued to be progression-free for 26 months. Of the 11 patients who underwent resection, all were alive and recurrence/progression-free. MPR and pCR were observed in 2 (18.18%) and 9 (81.82%), respectively. IHC results exhibited that all NSCLC patients exhibited positive PD-L1 expression (9/14, TPS ≥50% or greater; 5/14, 1% < TPS < 50%). Two were negative for ALK, EGFR, and ros-1, and the rest were not examined for driver oncogene mutation. Conclusion: The neoadjuvant therapy of the PD-1 inhibitor combined with nab-PTX and NED demonstrated remarkable therapeutic efficacy and good safety on stage III lung SCC without increasing the risk of TRAE, mortality and surgery-related complications, or impede surgery feasibility.

Effective Preoperative Plasmapheresis Treatment of Severe Hyperthyroidism in a Patient with Giant Toxic Nodular Goiter and Methimazole-Induced Agranulocytosis.

Agranulocytosis is a rare but very serious complication of thyrostatic therapy. In severe hyperthyroidism, the removal of circulating thyroid hormones by plasmapheresis may be an effective therapeutic option. This report describes the therapeutic difficulties and successful preoperative treatment with plasmapheresis in a 63-year-old patient admitted to the Endocrinology Clinic with severe hyperthyroidism, during the course of giant toxic nodular goiter and agranulocytosis, which occurred after 2 weeks of taking methimazole. During hospitalization, methimazole treatment was discontinued and therapy with steroids, a beta blocker, propylthiouracil, Lugol's solution, lithium carbonate, and antibiotics were initiated. Granulocyte colony growth stimulating factor was also used to resolve agranulocytosis. Due to the failure to achieve euthyreosis using this approach, we decided to conduct thyroid surgery, as a life-saving action, after preparation of the patient by plasmapheresis. Two plasmapheresis procedures were performed, resulting in a decrease in the concentration of free thyroid hormones. Total thyroidectomy was performed and there were no complications during surgery. We conclude that plasmapheresis may be considered as an effective alternative treatment option for the preparation of patients with hyperthyroidism for surgery, when the clinical situations prevent the use of conventional treatments for hyperthyroidism and when immediate life-saving surgery is necessary.

Neutropenia and Life-threatening Agranulocytosis Among Children With ß-Thalassemia Treated With Oral Iron Chelators in a Community With Background of Ethnic Neutropenia.

INTRODUCTION: Neutropenia and agranulocytosis are rare side effects of deferiprone (DFP) in patients treated for iron overload. Unfortunately, no study directly addressed special risks in countries with a background of ethnic neutropenia, such as Oman. AIM: The aim of this study was to report the incidence of neutropenia in Omani children with ß-thalassemia treated with different iron chelators. METHODS/DESIGN: This was a retrospective study that included 179 Omani pediatric patients. For patients who developed neutropenia, demographic data, iron-chelating agent, clinical presentation, management, and outcome were recorded. Detailed clinical, laboratory±radiologic information was added for patients with agranulocytosis. RESULTS: Neutropenia was encountered in 43.6% of patients: severe neutropenia in 10 patients, moderate in 29, and mild in 69 patients. Severe and moderate neutropenia had similar incidence among DFP-exposed and DFP-naive patients (P=0.515 and 0.421, respectively), while mild neutropenia was common among DFP-naive patients (P=0.0001). A higher incidence of DFP-related agranulocytosis (4.1%) was noted compared with previous reports, but none had a fatal outcome. CONCLUSIONS: In a community with ethnic neutropenia, mild to moderate neutropenia is common. Higher incidence of severe neutropenia and agranulocytosis mandates careful monitoring and rational modification of iron-chelating agents to avoid life-threatening complications.

'Metaphyseal dysplasia without hypotrichosis' can present with late-onset extraskeletal manifestations.

BACKGROUND: Metaphyseal dysplasia without hypotrichosis (MDWH) is a rare form of chondrodysplasia with no extraskeletal manifestations. MDWH is caused by RMRP mutations, but it is differentiated from the allelic condition cartilage-hair hypoplasia (CHH), which in addition to chondrodysplasia is characterised by thin hair, immunodeficiency and increased risk of malignancy. The long-term outcome of MDWH remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: We diagnosed severe agranulocytosis in a subject with RMRP mutations and normal hair. Based on this observation, we hypothesised that MDWH may, similar to CHH, associate with immune deficiency and malignancy. METHODS: We collected clinical and laboratory data for a cohort of 80 patients with RMRP mutations followed for over 30 years and analysed outcome data for those with features consistent with MDWH. RESULTS: In our cohort, we identified 10 patients with skeletal but no extraskeletal features during preschool age. Eight of these patients developed malignancy or clinically significant immunodeficiency during follow-up. Two of them died during chemotherapy for malignancy. At the time of the first extraskeletal manifestation, patients were school aged, 20, 43 and 50 years old. Laboratory signs of immunodeficiency (impaired lymphocyte proliferative responses) were demonstrated in four patients before the onset of symptoms. The patient outside this cohort, who had RMRP mutations, skeletal dysplasia, normal hair and severe agranulocytosis at 18 years of age, underwent haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: MDWH can present with severe late-onset extraskeletal manifestations and thus should be reclassified and managed as CHH.

PROGNOSIS OF THE COURSE OF CHORNOBYL-ORIGINATED ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA IN CHILDREN IN UKRAINE DEPENDING ON THE REASON OF STANDARD CHEMOTHERAPY INTERRUPTION. / PROGNOZ PEREBIGU GOSTRYKh LIMFOBLASTNYKh LEY̆KEMIY̆ ChORNOBYL'S'KOGO POKhODZhENNIa U DITEY̆ UKRAÏNY ZALEZhNO VID PRYChYN PERERV PRY PROVEDENNI STANDARTNOÏ KhIMIOTERAPIÏ.

OBJECTIVE: Estimation of the bone marrow haemopoietic status depending on the reasons and duration of breaks in a standard chemotherapy (BFM-ALL protocol) to predict the course of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in chil- dren exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation after the Chornobyl accident. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ALL patients (n = 34) were examined within 5 stages of a program chemotherapy. The clinical symptoms, hemogram and myelogram data were analyzed. The radiation dose on bone marrow, initial leuko- cyte count, variants and prognosis of ALL course were accounted. Days of the stopped chemotherapy, type and fre- quency of complications (septic processes, febrile neutropenia, toxic hepatitis, granulocytopenia degree), and the prognosis of disease course (child living status, i.e. alive or died) were estimated. RESULTS: There were abnormal differentiation processes and high percentage of lymphoblasts (86.2 ± 3.3) % in bone marrow in the 1st acute period. Hematological remission was established in all patients on the 33rd day of chemothe- rapy. In a half of cases the haematopoietic recovery occurred by a granulocyte-monocyte type. One third of patients presenting an erythroid type of haemopoiesis died later. The inverse correlation was found between the number of myelocaryocytes and disease prognosis (rs = -0.49). Breaks in chemotherapy for various reasons were recorded. The number of patients with granulocytopenia was greater at the phase 1 and 2 of protocol I and protocol M application, coinciding with a higher incidence of complications. An inverse correlations between the prediction of ALL course and sum of days of breaks between the protocol M and phase 1 of protocol II (rs = -0.56), as well as the duration of the phase 2 of protocol II (rs = -0.62) were found. The radiation dose on bone marrow was (5.37 ± 1.23) mSv. No relationship was found between the radiation doses, ALL variants and disease course. CONCLUSIONS: Prognosis of ALL course in children depends on the type of haemopoietic recovery and reasons of breaks in a standard chemotherapy. Interaction between the haemopoiesis functioning and microenvironment and that of their regulation are the key mechanisms of above-mentioned abnormalities, which is the basis for further research.

Alcohol abuse and disorder of granulopoiesis.

Granulocytes are the major type of phagocytes constituting the front line of innate immune defense against bacterial infection. In adults, granulocytes are derived from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Alcohol is the most frequently abused substance in human society. Excessive alcohol consumption injures hematopoietic tissue, impairing bone marrow production of granulocytes through disrupting homeostasis of granulopoiesis and the granulopoietic response. Because of the compromised immune defense function, alcohol abusers are susceptible to infectious diseases, particularly septic infection. Alcoholic patients with septic infection and granulocytopenia have an exceedingly high mortality rate. Treatment of serious infection in alcoholic patients with bone marrow inhibition continues to be a major challenge. Excessive alcohol consumption also causes diseases in other organ systems, particularly severe alcoholic hepatitis which is life threatening. Corticosteroids are the only therapeutic option for improving short-term survival in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis. The existence of advanced alcoholic liver diseases and administration of corticosteroids make it more difficult to treat serious infection in alcoholic patients with the disorder of granulopoieis. This article reviews the recent development in understanding alcohol-induced disruption of marrow granulopoiesis and the granulopoietic response with the focus on progress in delineating cell signaling mechanisms underlying the alcohol-induced injury to hematopoietic tissue. Efforts in exploring effective therapy to improve patient care in this field will also be discussed.

Granulocytopenia.

Granulocytopenia is defined as a decrease of peripheral blood granulocytes below lower limit of normal range. Patients with severe granulocytopenia - agranulocytosis exhibit < 0.5 × 109/l granulocytes in peipheral blood. Granulocytopenia may result from congenital or acquired defective production of granulocyte precursors or it may be a consequence of increased destruction of mature granulocytes, most frequently caused by immune mechanisms. Investigation of origin of granulocytopenia must be connected with exclusion of etiological agents causing secondary neutropenia (infections, autoimmune disorders, drugs, LGL syndrome). Patients with > 0.5 × 109/l of granulocytes usually do not exhibit clinical symptoms unless they do not suffer from a concomitant disease (especially immunodeficiency). Patients with severe granulocytopenia are indicated for supportive treatment and for administration of G-CSF. Children with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) are at risk of later development of MDS or AML and are candidates for SCT when signs of disease progression appears. Key words: diagnosis - granulocytopenia - growth factors - pathogenesis - transplantation -treatment.

Agranulocytosis Associated with Waldenström Macroglobulinemia.

Currently, there are only 2 case reports of Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) associated with severe neutropenia. This is a case report of a woman with a past medical history of WM who presented with neutropenic fever. The patient's febrile neutropenia resolved after RCD chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2, dexamethasone 20 mg, and rituximab 375 mg/m2). Fourteen days after administration, the neutrophil level had started to rise and normalized after 6 days. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 3rd reported case of agranulocytosis due to WM.

Transient immune-mediated agranulocytosis following Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common respiratory pathogen which may cause haematological manifestations including haemolytic anaemia and thrombocytopaenia. Severe neutropaenia is rare with very few cases reported in the literature. An 85-year-old man was transferred to our facility with agranulocytosis in the context of an infective exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with positive serological testing for M. pneumoniae. No alternative infective, autoimmune or lymphoproliferative cause of the neutropaenia was identified. Granulocyte autoantibody testing was performed with a positive result for neutrophil-bound IgG and IgM autoantibodies and significant agglutination reactions. The patient was treated with azithromycin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor which resulted in a sustained resolution of his neutropaenia.

Minimization of the perianal infection rate of hematological malignancies with agranulocytosis by quality control circle activity and patient-hospital-student win-win concept.

Objective The agranulocytosis-associated perianal infection (PI) rate ranges from 60% to 100% among patients with hematopoietic malignancies. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of a quality control circle (QCC) to minimize the PI rate. Methods Among 274 patients with severe immunodeficiency (agranulocytosis of ≥2 weeks) in our bone marrow transplantation center, the PI rate was 17.20%. A QCC was established following the 10 steps of the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) model; this was scientifically supported by culturing the bacterial colony from patients' perianal skin to determine the sanitization effect and interval time. Because a warm aqueous solution of potassium permanganate is recommended for sanitization, the bacterial colony culture was also used to determine the proper drug concentration, water temperature, and soaking time. All procedures were standardized. Patients, hospital staff, and medical students were enrolled into the QCC team based on the patient-hospital-student (PHS) win-win concept. Results After establishment of the PDCA model, the PI rate among 253 patients decreased from 17.20% to 5.93% and remained at 5.25% during the following year. The medical expenses and length of hospital stay consequently decreased. Conclusion The QCC and PHS win-win concept can reduce the PI rate and promote medical quality.

Long-Term Survival Analysis of Intraperitoneal versus Intravenous Chemotherapy for Primary Ovarian Cancer and Comparison between Carboplatin- and Cisplatin-based Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy.

In epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), intraperitoneal (IP) administration of chemotherapy is an effective first-line treatment and may improve outcomes, compared with intravenous (IV) chemotherapy. We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to compare long-term survival between propensity score-matched patients with advanced EOC receiving IP (n = 34) vs. IV (n = 68) chemotherapy. Additionally, clinical features associated with carboplatin-based (n = 21) and cisplatin-based (n = 16) IP chemotherapy were analyzed and compared with those associated with IV chemotherapy. The IP and IV chemotherapy groups had a median follow-up duration of 67 (range, 3-131) and 62 (range, 0-126) months, respectively, with no significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) (P = 0.735) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.776). A significantly higher proportion of patients in the IV (91.2%) than in the IP (67.6%) chemotherapy group (P = 0.004) received ≥ 6 cycles. However, the frequency of toxic events (anemia, granulocytopenia, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, hepatotoxicity, neuromuscular effects) was significantly higher in the IP than in the IV group. Within the IP group, no significant differences were observed in PFS (P = 0.533) and OS (P = 0.210) between the cisplatin-based and carboplatin-based chemotherapy subgroups. The 10-year OS was 28.6% and 49.2% in carboplatin-based and cisplatin-based IP chemotherapy groups, respectively. Toxic events (granulocytopenia, leukopenia, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, hepatotoxicity, neuromuscular effects) were significantly more common in the cisplatin-based subgroup. In patients with EOC, cisplatin-based IP chemotherapy may be an acceptable alternative to IV chemotherapy regarding long-term survival, but toxicity must be addressed.

Clinical Characteristics of Bloodstream Infections in Pediatric Acute Leukemia: A Single-center Experience with 231 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Acute leukemia is the most common pediatric hematological malignancy. Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are severe complications in these patients during chemotherapy. This study aimed to explore the clinical presentation and etiology of BSI, as well as the common sites of infection, and to provide a basis for the rational regarding antibiotic use. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients who had acute leukemia accompanied by a BSI in our hospital from December 2011 to September 2015. All patients were selected based on clinical presentation and had to have at least one positive blood culture for inclusion. The basic clinical characteristics, blood culture results, and antimicrobial susceptibilities were analyzed. RESULTS: All 231 patients had a fever; of them, 12 patients continued to have a fever. Twenty-five patients had nonremitting (NR) leukemia, and 206 patients achieved complete remission (CR). Differences in the duration of fever between the NR and CR groups were significant (9.6 ± 7.9 vs. 5.1 ± 3.8 days, P= 0.016). One hundred and eighty patients had agranulocytosis. Differences in fever duration between the agranulocytosis and nonagranulocytosis groups were significant (6.2 ± 5.1 vs. 4.1 ± 2.6 days, P= 0.001). The other sites of infection in these 231 patients were the lung, mouth, digestive tract, and rectum. Blood culture comprised 2635 samples. There were 619 samples, which were positive. Of the 619 positive blood culture samples, 59.9% had Gram-negative bacteria, 39.3% had Gram-positive bacteria, and 0.8% had fungus. The primary pathogens were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobactercloacae, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Of these 231 patients, 217 patients were cured. The effective treatment ratio was 94%. CONCLUSIONS: Gram-negative bacteria were the main pathogenic bacteria in patients with acute leukemia in our center. NR primary illness, agranulocytosis, and drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria were all risk factors for poor prognosis.

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia blast crisis in a patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

A 59-year-old woman with epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutation-positive advanced lung adenocarcinoma was treated with afatinib after a diagnosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Twenty-one weeks later, she developed agranulocytosis, and CMML subsequently progressed to blast crisis. After complete remission of CMML, gefitinib was initiated; however, agranulocytosis recurred. This is the first reported case of both EGFR mutation-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer with CMML, and of CMML blast crisis. Physicians should be aware of such risks and monitor EGFR-TKI-treated patients with myeloid neoplasms accordingly.

Late onset cytopenias following haematopoietic stem cell transplant associated with viral infection and cell specific antibodies.

This report describes a patient who received an allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant and who, following a viral infection, developed late onset cytopenias associated with antibodies against red cells, platelets and granulocytes. Investigation of these cytopenias revealed the presence of lineage specific auto- and allo-antibodies, which were not present in either the donor or in the recipient prior to the viral infection. This case provides further evidence for the concept that viral challenges following HSCT can result in the production of cell specific antibodies that can have significant implications for patient management.

Severe agranulocytosis in a patient with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are novel agents in the process of revolutionising cancer care. These agents have become a very appealing therapeutic alternative since they are much better tolerated than cytotoxic therapy, due to their relatively favorable toxicity profile. However, adverse events associated with these agents usually involve the immune system and can have serious implications jeopardising survival. Herein we report the first case of immune-mediated agranulocytosis due to Nivolumab therapy. The patient suffered from Staphylococcus infection during her agranulocytosis which only responded to high dose corticosteroid therapy.

Thromboelastography, thrombin generation test and thrombodynamics reveal hypercoagulability in patients with multiple myeloma.

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are at increased risk of venous thromboembolism. Therefore, adequate laboratory control of hemostasis and subsequent adjustments of anticoagulant therapy are necessary. We studied hemostasis changes using thromboelastography (TEG), thrombin generation test (TGT) and thrombodynamics (TD) in primary MM patients (PMMpt, n=25) and patients in remission (RMMpt, n=34) during blood stem cell (BSC) mobilization. TD and TEG reveal hypercoagulability in PMMpt (*p<0.05) in relation to healthy volunteers. There was no difference in any of the tests between PMMpt and RMMpt. We detected no heparin effect in 22% of patients one day after the onset of the prophylactic heparin treatment (500 IU/h) during BSC mobilization; tests shifted toward the hypercoagulability in 75% of patients one day after cyclophosphamide (4 g/m2) chemotherapy. Global hemostasis tests were in good agreement with each other, revealed hypercoagulability and heparin "resistance" in patients with MM and may be useful for therapy individualization.