Postremission Consolidation by Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) for Acute Myeloid Leukemia in First Complete Remission (CR) and Negative Implications for Subsequent Allogeneic HCT in Second CR: A Study by the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT).

After autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in the first complete remission (CR1), patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may relapse and undergo allogeneic HCT in the second complete remission (CR2). The aim of this study was to analyze the outcome of allogeneic HCT performed in CR2 comparing patients with prior consolidation by autologous HCT versus patients with chemotherapy consolidation. Included were 2619 adults with allogeneic HCT in CR2 from 2000 to 2017 with (n = 417) or without (n = 2202) prior autologous HCT. Patient groups were not entirely comparable; patients with prior autologous HCT were younger, had less often a favorable cytogenetic profile, had more commonly donors other than matched siblings, and more often received reduced-intensity conditioning. In multivariate analysis, nonrelapse mortality risks in patients with prior autologous HCT were 1.34 (1.07 to 1.67; P = .01) after adjustment for age, cytogenetic risk, transplant year, donor, conditioning intensity, sex matching, interval diagnosis-relapse, and relapse-allogeneic HCT as compared with chemotherapy consolidation. Similarly, risks of events in leukemia-free survival and graft-versus-host disease, relapse-free survival were higher with prior autologous HCT, 1.17 (1.01 to 1.35), P = .03 and 1.18 (1.03 to 1.35), P = .02, respectively. Risk of death was also higher, 1.13 (0.97 to 1.32), P = .1, but this was not significant. Postremission consolidation with autologous HCT for AML in CR1 increases toxicity of subsequent allogeneic HCT in CR2.

Transplant of SARS-CoV-2-infected Living Donor Liver: Case Report.

Given the high community prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), transplant programs will encounter SARS-CoV-2 infections in living donors or recipients in the perioperative period. There is limited data on SARS-CoV-2 viremia and organotropism beyond the respiratory tract to inform the risk of transplant transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We report a case of a living donor liver transplant recipient who received a right lobe graft from a living donor with symptomatic PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection 3 d following donation. The donor was successfully treated with remdesivir, dexamethasone, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent plasma. No viral transmission was identified, and both donor and recipient had excellent postoperative outcomes.

Neonatal meningitis and bilateral cerebellar abscesses due to Citrobacter freundii.

We report bilateral cerebellar abscesses in a neonate with Citrobacter freundii meningitis. The mortality and morbidity of Citrobacter abscess is high. Rapidly developing drug resistance may play a role as illustrated by our case.

Immediate coverage of exposed, denuded cranial bone with split-thickness skin grafts.

Avulsion injuries of the scalp are challenging to treat. If the periosteum is not intact and the status of local tissues does not allow local flap transposition, coverage of the exposed, denuded skull becomes a problem. Most authors have obtained a bed of granulation tissue at the site of exposed bone before skin grafting, which requires a prolonged waiting period. In 5 consecutive patients, the authors obtained coverage in a single operation by removing the outer table of the skull with a high-speed burr, followed by immediate application of a skin graft over the bleeding, cancellous bone. This resulted in stable coverage and shortened the hospital stay significantly. They describe their technique and compare it with others.

Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Leontopithecus rosalia at the Reserva Biológica de Poco das Antas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Wild golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) - endangered primates that are native to the Brazilian Atlantic coastal forest - were surveyed for the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi with the use of Giemsa-stained blood smears, hemocultures and an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFAT). Positive IFAT with titers ranging from 1:20 to 1:1280 were observed in 52% of the 118 wild tamarins examined and the parasite was isolated from 38 tamarins. No patent parasitemia was observed among the tamarins from which T. cruzi was isolated. Serum conversion and positive hemoculture was observed for three animals that had yielded negative results some months earlier, which indicates that T. cruzi is actively transmitted among tamarins. In contrast to observations with other sylvatic isolates, those from the tamarins were significantly more virulent and most of them produced mortality in experimentally infected Swiss mice. Some variation in the kDNA restriction profiles among the isolates was observed. Electrophoresis with GPI, G6PDH, IDH, MDH and ME enzymes showed a Z2 profile.

Phase I study of intracarotid PCNU.

A phase I study of the intracarotid administration of PCNU was conducted in patients with intracerebral tumors recurring after cranial radiation. Seventeen patients were treated including 16 with recurrent gliomas or glioblastomas and 1 with recurrent brain metastases from adenocarcinoma of the lung. An additional patient received a vertebral artery infusion of PCNU for a recurrent glioblastoma. Seven of 17 patients receiving intracarotid PCNU responded for a response rate of 41%. If only evaluable patients with gliomas are considered, the response rate was 44%. Tumor grade at time of initial diagnosis, exposure to prior chemotherapy, and dose of PCNU did not appear to have a major impact on response rate. Zubrod performance status 3 patients had a lower response rate (25%) than did patients with performance status 1 or 2 (response rate 63%). Thrombocytopenia and reversible central nervous system toxicity were dose limiting at a PCNU dose of 110 mg/m2. Two patients had possible permanent central nervous system toxicity. Three patients had permanent ipsilateral visual impairment, including one at the lowest dose used into the carotid artery (60 mg/m2). Orbital pain appeared to be substantially less than that seen with intracarotid BCNU but headaches may have been somewhat more common. The single patient receiving a vertebral artery infusion developed marked headaches and restlessness after receiving 25 mg/m2 of a planned 75 mg/m2 treatment into the vertebral artery and the treatment had to be discontinued. Symptoms were rapidly reversible upon stopping the medication. Our overall impression is that intracarotid PCNU causes less ocular pain but more transient central nervous system toxicity than does intracarotid BCNU.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High-dose ifosfamide in combination with etoposide and epirubicin (IVE) in the treatment of relapsed/refractory Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a report on toxicity and efficacy.

One hundred and seven patients (61 with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 46 with Hodgkin's disease) in relapse or following of primary therapy received ifosfamide 3 g/m2 i.v. daily for 3 days in combination with epirubicin 50 mg/m2 i.v. day 1 and etoposide 200 mg/m2 i.v. days 1-3. Of the 46 patients with Hodgkin's disease (28 male, 18 female, and a median age of 28 years) 85% of patients had a response to treatment, with 17 achieving complete remission and 11 good partial remission. Twenty-eight proceeded to autologous bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Twenty-three patients remain alive in continuous remission with a follow-up of 12-61 months. The median overall survival time for all patients in this group is 36 months. Haematological toxicity, particularly WHO Grade IV neutropenia, occurred in all patients but improved over the three courses of treatment. There was no major non-haematological toxicity. Further trials of this regimen in this clinical situation are indicated. The patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in this study had diffuse large B-cell lymphomas and had only received first-line treatment. Twenty had primarily refractory disease, 15 had only achieved partial remissions (PR), and 26 had developed relapse following primary treatment. The overall response rate was 43%; it was 60% for those who had achieved initial PR, 58% for those in relapse after an initial CR or very good PR following initial therapy, but only 10% for those with primarily refractory disease. Tolerance to the regimen was similar to that observed in treatment of the patients with Hodgkin's disease and many were able to undergo stem cell collection, following mobilization with this regimen. The 2-year overall survival result was 22% for patients with some response to first-line treatment but 0% for primary refractory patients.