Clinical outcomes and frequency of persistent infection among immunosuppressed patients treated with bebtelovimab for COVID-19 infection at an ambulatory cancer center.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on clinical outcomes associated with the use of bebtelovimab for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among cancer patients. We aimed to define the clinical characteristics and outcomes among patients receiving bebtelovimab as part of the COVID-19 therapeutics program at our cancer center. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of immunosuppressed adult patients who received bebtelovimab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center between March 2022, and November 2022. We reviewed medical records to capture the date of the first positive COVID-19 test, clinical characteristics, outcomes, and follow-up COVID-19 testing for 60 days after the first positive. Persistent infection was defined as a positive test beyond day 30; these patients were reviewed beyond day 60. RESULTS: Among 93 patients who received bebtelovimab, 64 (69%) had hematologic malignancy. Sixty-nine (74%) patients received bebtelovimab within 2 days after diagnosis. Two (2%) patients were hospitalized, none required ICU care, and one patient died on day 52; although it is unknown if death was directly related to COVID-19. Ten (11%) patients had persistent COVID-19 infection; of these, four received additional COVID-19 therapy with either nirmatrelvir/ritonavir or remdesivir, and five out of six patients with sequencing data available had spike protein mutations associated with bebtelovimab resistance. CONCLUSION: A coordinated systems-based approach led to prompt initiation of bebtelovimab within two days of testing positive in most patients. We observed few hospitalizations or deaths. Persistent infection was noted in 11% of patients with four requiring additional therapies, highlighting a need for novel strategies to manage immunosuppressed patients.

Analysis of health care facility-onset Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) unit: A call for diagnostic stewardship in a complex patient population.

Nearly half the patients identified as having health care facility-onset Clostridioides difficile infections on a hematopoietic cell transplant unit had an alternative clinical explanation for diarrhea, including conditioning regimen toxicity or other medications. Our study supports that targeted diagnostic stewardship interventions should be explored and that additional risk-adjustments considered for facilities with oncology hematopoietic cell transplant wards in the National Healthcare Safety Network LabID Clostridioides difficile infection standardized infection ratio model.

COVID-19 Outcomes Among Hematopoietic Cell Transplant and Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Recipients in the Era of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants and COVID-19 Therapeutics.

BACKGROUND: Recipients of cellular therapies, including hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART) therapy, are at risk for poor outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There are limited data describing outcomes among patients in the pre- and early post-cellular therapy period during the Omicron era when multiple antiviral therapeutics were widely available. OBJECTIVES: Describe COVID-19 treatment and outcomes in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during the pre- or early post-cellular therapy period. STUDY DESIGN: This is a single-center retrospective cohort study of adult HCT and CART recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the pre- and early post-cellular therapy period who tested positive for COVID-19 at our cancer center between January 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Primary outcomes were 30-day COVID-19-related hospitalization and death. A secondary outcome was development of persistent COVID-19, defined by a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 31-90 days after COVID-19 diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 65 patients included, 52 (80%) received at least one COVID-19 therapeutic. The most common treatment after initial COVID-19 diagnosis was nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (29%), followed by monoclonal antibody therapy (26%) and remdesivir (11%). Of the 64 patients with at least 30 days of follow-up, 8 (12%) had at least one COVID-19-related hospitalization and one patient died, though cause of death was not due to COVID-19. Of the 8 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, one had severe disease and 7 had mild or moderate infection. Persistent COVID-19 was observed in 13/65 (20%) patients, with 4 patients requiring additional antiviral therapy. Three pre-cellular therapy patients had delays in receiving cellular therapy due to persistent COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: During the Omicron era, rates of 30-day COVID-19-related hospitalization and death were relatively low in this cohort of pre- and early post-HCT and CART recipients, the majority of whom received treatment with at least one antiviral agent. Persistent COVID-19 occurred in 1 in 5 patients in the peri-cellular therapy period and led to cellular therapy treatment delays in several patients, highlighting the need for new COVID-19 treatment strategies.

Improving antimicrobial use through better diagnosis: The relationship between diagnostic stewardship and antimicrobial stewardship.

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) exist to optimize antibiotic use, reduce selection for antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, and improve patient outcomes. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is essential to optimal antibiotic use. Because diagnostic testing plays a significant role in diagnosing patients, it has one of the strongest influences on clinician antibiotic prescribing behaviors. Diagnostic stewardship, consequently, has emerged to improve clinician diagnostic testing and test result interpretation. Antimicrobial stewardship and diagnostic stewardship share common goals and are synergistic when used together. Although ASP requires a relationship with clinicians and focuses on person-to-person communication, diagnostic stewardship centers on a relationship with the laboratory and hardwiring testing changes into laboratory processes and the electronic health record. Here, we discuss how diagnostic stewardship can optimize the "Four Moments of Antibiotic Decision Making" created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and work synergistically with ASPs.

A single-institution experience with a brucellosis outbreak in the United States.

Human cases of brucellosis in the United States are primarily limited to imported infections or reservoirs. We describe a brucellosis outbreak involving 8 patients treated at a single hospital in the United States. Standardized precautionary microbiology processes and coordinated collaboration among hospital departments and local health departments assisted in optimally managing this disease at our institution.