Development of a Coagulation Disorders Unit.

Our Coagulation Disorders Unit in Helsinki, Finland, provides 24/7 services for local and national hospitals and colleagues upon requests regarding bleeding and thrombosis diagnostics and management, including follow-up. The unit has a tight connection between the clinic and laboratory, and its maintenance and sharing knowledge and observations have been priorities, already for over 20 years and will continue to be of major importance. The consultation service is provided by phone during daytime and on-call hours, and in written form sent electronically to the consulting stakeholders. Thrombosis and hemostasis-targeted outpatient clinics are also available for the patients referred to the center. Writing local guidance and official guidelines, Nordic, European and international collaboration, and educational activities including social communication are critical elements for the Coagulation Disorders Unit. Alertness to acute coagulation abnormalities, such as occurred during COVID-19 and vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia, and development of strategies to manage cross-disciplinary problems are topics which call upon broad networking. The Nordic community has an ongoing historical meeting, which has been circulating among coagulation centers for the past 56 years. At the European level, the European Association of Haemophilia and Allied Disorders focuses on bleeding disorders and their management, including safety surveillance. The International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis offers excellent basic and clinical benchmarks for any Coagulation Disorders Unit. We hope that the description of the development and implementation of our Coagulation Disorders Unit in Helsinki achieves international interest and broadens international collaboration. Finally, we congratulate STH on its great contributions around the globe and for providing a vivid forum to foster the discipline of thrombosis and hemostasis.

Prognostic role of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in high-risk BCG-naïve non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with intravesical gemcitabine/docetaxel.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role of pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in the prediction of response to sequential intravesical therapy, gemcitabine and docetaxel (Gem/Doce), given to patients with bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG)- naïve high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 115 patients who received intravesical Gem/Doce for high-risk NMIBC between January 2011 and December 2021. Data were computed as the median (interquartile range [IQR]) or mean (standard deviation [sd]). Cox regression analysis was performed to determine if neutrophilia, NLR, platelet counts, and PLR before instillation therapy were predictive of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Predictive performance was estimated using Uno's C-statistic. RESULTS: The median (IQR) follow-up for the overall cohort was 23 (13-36) months. The mean (sd) values for NLR, PLR and platelet counts were 3.4 (2.3), 142.2 (85.5), and 225.2 (75.1) × 109/L, respectively. NLR was associated with RFS, with a hazard ratio of 1.32 (95% confidence interval CI 1.19-1.46). Concordance analysis showed that NLR had a good ability to predict RFS (C-index: 0.7, P < 0.01). The PLR and platelet count were not associated with RFS and did not predict recurrence. In terms of OS, none of these cellular inflammatory markers showed any prediction value. CONCLUSION: Pre-treatment NLR provides some predictive accuracy for RFS in high-risk BCG-naïve patients receiving Gem/Doce. Further prospective trials are needed to validate this finding.

Highly thrombogenic phenotype and impaired wound healing in a patient with congenital dysfibrinogenemia: case report.

Background: Congenital fibrinogen disorders are classified based on both fibrinogen levels and the clinical phenotype. For dysfibrinogenemia, normal fibrinogen levels are typical. Key Clinical Question: We highlight the importance of comprehensive thrombotic risk assessment, including lipoprotein a (Lp[a]) and hypertriglyceridemia in association with severe thrombosis and poor wound healing in dysfibrinogenemia. Clinical Approach: We report the case of a 42-year-old male patient with a rare congenital thrombotic-related dysfibrinogenemia (fibrinogen Naples) and multiple thrombotic episodes throughout his life and an unhealing ankle wound. Despite all thrombotic episodes and surgery, the patient had undetectable D-dimer, suggestive of fibrinolytic defect, further supported by over 4-fold elevated Lp(a) levels. The last arterial thrombosis was preoperatively managed by plasma exchange, antithrombotics, and thereafter continued fibrinogen replacement therapy, under which the chronic wound has healed. Conclusion: The combination of thrombogenesis, abnormal fibrinogen, and high Lp(a) levels is a clinical and research topic deserving more attention.

Activity of ceftolozane/tazobactam against commonly encountered antimicrobial resistant Gram-negative bacteria in Lebanon.

INTRODUCTION: In view of the continuous rise in Gram-negative bacterial resistance and limited treatment options, Ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) is a newly introduced antimicrobial agent in Lebanon for its demonstrated activity against resistant Gram-negative bacteria. However, in vitro data is not available about its activity against commonly isolated bacteria in this country. METHODOLOGY: The analysis included clinical isolates, multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extended-spectrum Beta-lactamases (ESBLs), representing 124 Escherichia coli, 75 Klebsiella pneumoniae and 100 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, identified using the MALDI-TOF. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for C/T was determined by the Etest (Liofilchem, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy). In addition, the disk diffusion (DD) test was used to determine the activity of C/T and of the antimicrobials routinely used to test for such pathogens. RESULTS: The C/T activity against the ESBL producers E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates were similar (MIC90 value of 1 and 1.5 µg/mL, respectively; susceptibility of 100% and 96%, respectively). However, the activity of C/T against the E. coli and K. pneumoniae MDR isolates was much lower (MIC90 value of 256 and 96 µg/mL, respectively; susceptibility of 54% for each). The C/T MIC90 value for the non-MDR P. aeruginosa isolates was 3 µg/mL and ≥ 256 µg/mL for the MDR P. aeruginosa isolates (susceptibility of 96% vs 42% respectively). Overall, the C/T activities show comparable or higher susceptibility to the routinely used antimicrobials. CONCLUSION: The high in vitro activity of C/T points out its value as a possible alternative to the antimicrobials currently used for treatment of infections caused by such pathogens and would help in minimizing toxicity and bacterial resistance.

Campylobacter fetus thyroid gland abscess in a young immunocompetent woman.

Campylobacter species are mostly associated with intestinal infections. Campylobacter fetus, however, can cause bacteremia and extra-intestinal infections especially in immunosuppressed patients. To the best of our knowledge, we present the second case of C. fetus causing thyroiditis and thyroid abscess in an immunocompetent young woman.

Vibrio albensis: An unusual urinary tract infection in a healthy male.

Infections with non-O1 non-O139 Vibro cholerae strains have been reported to affect different extra intestinal sites including the urinary tract infection. We report the first case of UTI due to Vibrio albensis in an immunocompetent patient from Lebanon, where the organism was also recovered from water at his home.