Trends in age and sex-specific prevalence of cancer and cancer subtypes in acute ischemic stroke from 2007-2019.

OBJECTIVE: To describe age and sex-specific prevalence of cancer in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) hospitalizations in the United States over the last decade. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective serial cross-sectional study using all primary AIS discharges (weighted n=5,748,358) with and without cancer in the 2007-2019 National Inpatient Sample. Admissions with primary central nervous system cancers were excluded. Joinpoint regression was used to compute the average annualized percentage change (AAPC) in cancer prevalence over time. RESULTS: Across the study period, 12.7% of AIS admissions had previous/active cancer, while 4.4% had active cancer. Of these, 18.8% were hematologic cancers, 47.2% were solid cancers without metastasis and 34.0% were metastatic cancers of any type. Age-adjusted active cancer prevalence differed by sex (males:4.8%; females:4.0%) and increased with age up to age 70-79 years (30-39 years 1.4%; 70-79 years:5.7%). Amongst cancer admissions, lung (18.7%) and prostate (17.8%) were the most common solid cancers in men, while lung (19.6%) and breast (13.7%) were the most prevalent in women. Active cancer prevalence increased over time (AAPC 1.7%, p<0.05) but the pace of increase was significantly faster in women (AAPC 2.8%) compared to men (AAPC 1.1%) (p-comparison =0.003). Fastest pace of increased prevalence was seen for genitourinary cancers in women and for gastrointestinal cancers in both sexes. Genitourinary cancers in men declined over time (AAPC -2.5%, p<0.05). Lung cancer prevalence increased in women (AAPC 1.8%, p<0.05) but remained constant in men. Prevalence of head/neck, skin/bone, gastrointestinal, hematological and metastatic cancers increased over time at similar pace in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of cancer in AIS admissions increased in the US over the last decade but the pace of this increase was faster in women compared to men. Gastrointestinal cancers in both sexes and genitourinary cancers in women are increasing at the fastest pace. Additional studies are needed to determine whether this increase is from co-occurrence or causation of AIS by cancer.

Miliary Tuberculosis Presenting With Meningitis in a Patient Treated With Mycophenolate for Lupus Nephritis: Challenges in Diagnosis and Review of the Literature.

Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization. Central nervous system involvement is usually the least common presentation of tuberculosis occurring in about 1% of all cases but yet can have very devastating outcomes. Lupus nephritis is one of the most common complications of systemic lupus erythematosus with up to two thirds of patients presenting with some degree of renal dysfunction. The mainstay of treatment is glucocorticoids; however, to sustain remission, steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide, azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil are used. Such patients, in addition to their baseline dysfunctional immune system, have a heightened risk of infections due to these drugs. In this article, we present a young woman who had recently been started on mycophenolate mofetil for control of class V lupus nephritis who presented with headaches, sinus pressure, and fevers. She had a protracted course of hospitalization as she failed to improve clinically and to respond to conventional therapy for acute bacterial sinusitis and meningitis. She was empirically started on antitubercular therapy 9 days after hospitalization. The diagnosis was not confirmed until day 18, the day results of cerebrospinal fluid acid-fast bacillus culture was reported. This case is reported to highlight the challenges in diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in an immunocompromised state and to demonstrate that its presentation can mimic numerous other conditions. Clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in such patients who present with nonspecific or unexplainable symptoms.

Results of a Quality Improvement Project Aimed at Eliminating Healthcare Waste by Changing Medical Resident Test Ordering Behavior.

BACKGROUND: In light of rising healthcare costs and evidence of inefficient use of medical resources, there is growing interest in reducing healthcare waste by clinicians. Unwarranted lab tests may lead to further tests, prolonged hospital stays, unnecessary referrals and procedures, patient discomfort, and iatrogenic anemia, resulting in significant economic and clinical effects. Blood tests are essential in guiding medical decisions, but they are also associated with significant financial and clinical costs. We designed a quality improvement study that attempted to decrease inappropriate ordering of laboratory tests while maintaining quality of care in a large residency program. METHODS: An algorithm outlining indications for complete blood count (CBC), coagulation profile (PT/INR) and basic metabolic profile (BMP) was created by the study team. Data from 1,312 patients over a 3-month period in the pre-intervention phase and 1,255 patients during the selected intervention phase were analyzed. The primary endpoint was mortality rate and secondary endpoints were length of stay and laboratory costs. RESULTS: There were significant decreases in the number of PT/INR orders (20.6%), followed by BMP orders (12.4%), and CBC orders (9.3%). The mortality rate was 5.3% for the pre-intervention phase and 5.8% for the selected intervention phase, with a difference of 0.5% (P = 0.44). CONCLUSION: Our approach leads to a decrease in costs, preventing unnecessary downstream testing, and improving patient experience. It also brought a mental discipline while ordering blood tests amongst residents.