The challenging follow-up of pregnancy in women with known thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: a single-center experience of a preemptive management protocol.

BACKGROUND: Although thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura frequently affects women of childbearing age, there is no clear recommendation for the management of subsequent pregnancies in women with established thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. METHODS: This single-center, retrospective, observational study included all women with hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura or immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura who had had at least one subsequent pregnancy after thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura diagnosis between 2003 and 2022. The strategy comprised weekly surveillance of platelet count during pregnancy (and quarterly monitoring of ADAMTS13 activity) for women with immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, without any routine prophylactic treatment. In case of thrombocytopenia < 150,000/mm3 (with or without hemolysis relapse), women with hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura systematically received plasma infusions twice weekly until platelet count normalized. RESULTS: A total of 13 patients were included (7 with hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and 6 with immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, with 20 planned pregnancies (11 and 9, respectively). All pregnancies resulted in live births, and all mothers survived. There was a marked improvement in pregnancy terms in the hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura group compared to index pregnancies (37 [35;39] versus 31 [24;38] weeks, p = 0.037) and birth weights (3265 [3029;3410] versus 2160 [1240;2705] grams, p = 0.016), with need for plasma support mostly starting during the third trimester (5/7 patients, 7/11 pregnancies). A single hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura relapse occurred, with rapid resolution after plasma support intensification. There were no relapses in the immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura group, with ADAMTS13 activity systematically above 40% during all monitored pregnancies. CONCLUSION: These real-life data support the feasibility of a preemptive approach to pregnancy monitoring in women with known thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura who undergo active surveillance within a multidisciplinary network.

Risk factors for CKD stage II onset in a prospective cohort of homozygous sickle cell adults.

Prevalence of renal impairment is increasing with aging in sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients, and is responsible for a high morbidity and mortality. However, sickle cell nephropathy's natural course remains mostly unknown. We conducted a prospective observational cohort study aimed to identify risk factors for CKD stage II in a cohort of SCA patients. Baseline clinical and biological parameters were collected. Renal parameters were updated at each visit. Risk factors were analyzed using the Cox model. Five-hundred and thirty-five SCA patients were included with a median follow-up of 5.33 (IQR:2.10-8.13) years. Median age was 22 (IQR:19-30) years old. Glomerular hyperfiltration was detected in 299 (55.9%) patients, microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria in 180 (34%) and 67 (12.7%) patients respectively. During follow up, CKD stage II onset was detected in 39 patients (7.3%). Risk factors for CKD stage II after adjustment on baseline eGFR and age were macroalbuminuria HR: 3.89 [95% CI: 1.61;9.43], diastolic blood pressure (DBP) above 70 mm Hg HR: 2.02 [1.02-3.971], LDH (for 100 IU/L increase) HR: 1.28 [1.12;1.48] and tricuspid regurgitation velocity >2.5 m/sec HR: 2.89 [1.20-6.99]. Multivariate analysis also found age as a strong independent risk factor with HR: (per year increase) 1.13 [1.09;1.16] and a 13.3-fold increase above 30 years (p < 0.001). Our results show a high incidence of CKD stage II with aging, with a strong significant risk increase after 30-years-old, and pinpoint baseline DBP, macroalbuminuria and increased LDH as independent risk factors raising the issue of optimal blood pressure targets for SCA patients.

No benefit of systematic hemodialysis catheter blood cultures for the early detection of catheter-related bloodstream infection
.

BACKGROUND: The use of a catheter for hemodialysis is associated with a 5-fold increased risk of septicemia. Early detection of catheter-related bloodstrean infection (CRBSI) may decrease morbidity and mortality, but the benefits of systematic blood cultures have not been demonstrated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied the blood culture results of patients who had been dialyzed with a tunneled jugular catheter for more than 1 month in a dialysis unit from January to December 2015. Systematic monthly catheter blood cultures were taken from the heparin lock solutions in the arterial and venous branches, at the beginning or end of the session. CRBSI was assessed using patient symptoms (fever, chills, hemodynamic instability) and positive catheter blood cultures. RESULTS: 75 patients were included. We analyzed the results of 577 systematic catheter blood cultures. 27 (5%) were positive, including 23 from patients who did not develop CRBSI in the following month. For the latter, there was a predominance of coagulase-negative staphylococci. Only four patients with positive catheter blood cultures went on to develop CRBSI in the following month. The sensitivity and specificity of these monthly blood cultures to detect CRBSI in the following month were 0.44 and 0.95, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of the test were 0.14 and 0.99, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this study, systematic catheter blood cultures did not predict the occurrence of CRBSI. The sensitivity of these tests could be improved by increasing the sampling frequency. A cost-benefit analysis of such measures should be performed.