Definition of factors associated with negative antibody response after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with hematological diseases.

COVID-19 in patients with hematological diseases is associated with a high mortality. Moreover, preventive vaccination demonstrated reduced efficacy and the knowledge on influencing factors is limited. In this single-center study, antibody levels of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were measured ≥ 2 weeks after 2nd COVID-19 vaccination with a concentration ≥ 0.8 U/mL considered positive. Between July and October 2021, in a total of 373 patients (median age 64 years, 44% women) with myeloid neoplasms (n = 214, 57%), lymphoid neoplasms (n = 124, n = 33%), and other diseases (n = 35, 10%), vaccination was performed with BNT162b2 (BioNTech), mRNA-1273 (Moderna), ChADOx1 (AstraZeneca), or a combination. A total of 229 patients (61%) were on active therapy within 3 months prior vaccination and 144 patients (39%) were previously treated or treatment naïve. Vaccination-related antibody response was negative in 56/373 patients (15%): in 39/124 patients with lymphoid neoplasms, 13/214 with myeloid neoplasms, and 4/35 with other diseases. Active treatment per se was not correlated with negative response. However, rituximab and BTK inhibitor treatment were correlated significantly with a negative vaccination response, whereas younger age and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) disease were associated with positive response. In addition, 5 of 6 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) and negative vaccination response were on active treatment with ruxolitinib. In conclusion, a remarkable percentage of patients with hematological diseases had no response after 2nd COVID-19 vaccination. Multivariable analysis revealed important factors associated with response to vaccination. The results may serve as a guide for better protection and surveillance in this vulnerable patient cohort.

Triptychon: Usability evaluation and implementation of a web-based application for patients' lab and vital parameters.

Background: A major challenge in healthcare is the interpretation of the constantly increasing amount of clinical data of interest to inpatients for diagnosis and therapy. It is vital to accurately structure and represent data from different sources to help clinicians make informed decisions. Objective: We evaluated the usability of our tool 'Triptychon' - a three-part visualisation dashboard of essential patients' medical data provided by a direct overview of their hospitalisation information, laboratory, and vital parameters over time. Methods: The study followed a cohort of 20 participants using the mixed-methods approach, including interviews and the usability questionnaires, Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale (Health-ITUES), and User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). The participant's interactions with the dashboard were also observed. A thematic analysis approach was applied to analyse qualitative data and the quantitative data's task completion time and success rates. Results: The usability evaluation of the visualisation dashboard revealed issues relating to the terminology used in the user interface and colour coding in its left and middle panels. The Health-ITUES score was 3.72 (standard deviation (SD) = 1.0), and the UEQ score was 1.6 (SD = 0.74). The study demonstrated improvements in intuitive dashboard use and overall satisfaction with using the dashboard daily. Conclusion: The Triptychon dashboard is a promising new tool for medical data presentation. We identified design and layout issues of the dashboard for improving its usability in routine clinical practice. According to users' feedback, the three panels on the dashboard provided a holistic view of a patient's hospital stay.