Impact of the use of antibiotics on the clinical response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research suggests that the use of antibiotics could reduce the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors, in addition to other well-known factors. It could be due to gut microbiota modification, which impact over the immune system response. However, the information available so far is contradictory. The objective of this research was to clarify whether antibiotic use influences efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors treatments in non-small cell lung cancer patients in clinical practice. METHODS: Therefore, a retrospective observational study was designed. Use of antibiotics among patients treated with atezolizumab, pembrolizumab or nivolumab was assessed within 2 months of checkpoint inhibitors treatments initiation. RESULTS: A total of 140 patients were included, mostly men, with good performance status (ECOG 0-1), all of them previously treated with chemotherapy. An antibiotic prescription was identified in 31% of these patients, mainly fluoroquinolones or beta-lactams. The most frequent indication was respiratory infection. Both progression-free survival and overall survival were lower for patients treated with anti-infective drugs, although this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: More studies are needed to draw conclusions about the impact of antibiotics on the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Toxicidad inmuno-relacionada asociada al uso de pembrolizumab en la práctica asistencial / Inmune-related toxicity with pembrolizumab in health care practice

Introducción: Los inhibidores del checkpoint inmunológico (ICIs) han conseguido buenos resultados en salud, pero pueden presentar eventos adversos inmunorelacionados (EAir), en ocasiones, graves y poco predecibles.Objetivo principal: Identificar los EAir asociados al uso de pembrolizumab y conocer su incidencia, características y tratamiento, en nuestro centro.Material y métodos: Estudio observacional y retrospectivo que incluye pacientes con cáncer oncohematológico tratados con pembrolizumab, excluyendo los que participaron en ensayos clínicos. Se recogen variables sociodemográficas, clínicas, y las relacionadas con el tratamiento, incluyendo EAir. El tratamiento estadístico se realizó mediante el paquete estadístico STATA/IC 12.1.Resultados: Se incluyeron 31 pacientes, 81% varones, con una mediana de edad de 67 años (rango 26-88), siendo los diagnósticos mayoritarios: cáncer de pulmón (55%) y melanoma (16%). 81% de los pacientes presentaban estadio IV y el 71%, PDL-1 positivo. La mediana de duración fue de 3,4 meses (rango 0,7-26). El 77% de los pacientes experimentaron EAir y las más frecuentes fueron: astenia, linfopenia e hipotiroidismo. Respecto a la gravedad, el 91% fueron leves o moderadas y en el 9% grado 3. Las reacciones adversas más graves fueron encefalitis, nefritis, anemia grado 3, liquen plano y polineuropatía motora desmielinizante. 11 de los pacientes suspendieron pembrolizumab, de los cuales el 36% fue de forma definitiva. Conclusión: La mayoría de los EAir que aparecen son leves, aunque los casos graves observados y el tiempo de aparición variable hacen que sea importante realizar una monitorización continua de la toxicidad de estos fármacos durante tratamiento, incluso después de suspenderlo. (AU)

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have achieved good health outcomes but it presents immunorelated adverse events (AEsir), sometimes serious and not very predictable.Main objective: To identify the immune-mediated adverse effects (irAE) associated with the use of pembrolizumab and to know its incidence, characteristics and treatment in our center.Material and methods: Observational and retrospective study including oncohematological cancer patients treated with pembrolizumab, excluding those who participated in clinical trials. Sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment-related variables were collected, including EAir. Statistical treatment was performed using the STATA/IC 12.1 statistical package.Results: 31 patients, 81% male, with a median age of 67 years (range 26-88), the main diagnoses being lung cancer (55%) and melanoma (16%). Eighty-one percent of the patients had stage IV and PDL-1 positive in 71%. The median duration was 3.4 months (range 0.7-26). Seventy-seven percent of patients experienced AEir and the most frequent were: asthenia, lymphopenia and hypothyroidism. Regarding severity, 91% were mild or moderate and 9% were grade 3. The most serious adverse reactions were encephalitis, nephritis, grade 3 anemia, lichen planus and demyelinating motor polyneuropathy. Eleven of the patients discontinued pembrolizumab, 36% of whom discontinued permanently. Conclusions: Most of the AEs that appeared were mild, although the severe cases observed and the variable time of onset make it important to continuously monitor the toxicity of these drugs during treatment, even after discontinuation. (AU)

Quality improvement in parenteral nutrition care.

The therapeutic objective of parenteral nutrition, as well as any other pharmacological treatment, must be organized for and focused on the patient, to obtain outcomes associated with an improvement in health status and quality of life. On this basis, the present article starts with a view of quality improvement in health care, identifying the structure, process and outcome paradigm for drug therapy and parenteral nutrition elements of quality assessment, as well as strategies for quality improvement will be described. A model of the organization assigned to parenteral nutrition care is proposed. In the future, computerized programs of parenteral nutrition may increase the risk of uncoordinated and fragmented care. The programs must improve health care of patient by exposing caregivers to the full alternatives of decisions with clinical and therapeutic data on patient individual.