Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown regarding blood transfusion.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of a SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a massive afflux of patients in hospital and intensive care units with many challenges. Blood transfusion was one of them regarding both blood banks (safety, collection, and stocks) and consumption (usual care and unknown specific demand of COVID-19 patients). The risk of mismatch was sufficient to plan blood transfusion restrictions if stocks became limited. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Analyses of blood transfusion in a tertiary hospital and blood collection in the referring blood bank between February 24 and May 31, 2020. RESULTS: Withdrawal of elective surgery and non-urgent care and admission of 2291 COVID-19 patients reduced global activity by 33% but transfusion by 17% only. Only 237 (10.3) % of COVID-19 patients required blood transfusion, including 45 (2.0%) with acute bleeding. Lockdown and cancellation of mobile collection resulted in an 11% reduction in blood donation compared to 2019. The ratio of reduction in blood transfusion to blood donation remained positive and stocks were slightly enhanced. DISCUSSION: Reduction of admissions due to SARS-CoV-2 pandemic results only in a moderate decrease of blood transfusion. Incompressible blood transfusions concern urgent surgery, acute bleeding (including some patients with COVID-19, especially under high anticoagulation), or are supportive for chemotherapy-induced aplasia or chronic anemia. Lockdown results in a decrease of blood donation by cancellation of mobile donation but with little impact on a short period by mobilization of usual donors. No mismatch between demand and donation was evidenced and no planned restriction to blood transfusion was necessary.

[COVID-19 and change to home nursing care: Prospective study on 100 patients followed in CLCC]. / COVID-19 et modification des aides à domicile : étude prospective auprès de 100 patients suivis en CLCC.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 epidemic, the lockdown measures were associated with professional guidelines to care for patients. We noticed that the home nursing care of some patients monitored in supportive care wards were interrupted. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of lockdown on the home nursing care of patients monitored in supportive care wards. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This observational, descriptive, monocentric, and prospective study was conducted in the supportive care wards from the 04.20 to the 05.15.2020 among 100 patients. They were asked about their home nursing care and their frequency before and after lockdown. Our study received a favorable ruling from the ethics committee of the Hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg. RESULTS: About two thirds of patients had experienced a change with their home nursing care. A complete interruption was observed for 40% of them and a reduction of frequency for 10% of them. Some populations were more deeply affected: patients with a performance status 3-4, women, patients living alone or patients with motor disability. The interruption of a task usually performed by a professional was observed for 49% of patients, with the task becoming incumbent on the patient or family caregivers. CONCLUSION: Our study shows a strong impact of the lockdown on the home nursing care of our patients in spite of the professional guidelines encouraging continuity of care. Our study underlines the great importance of protecting the access to care of the most vulnerable patients.

Interest to consider re-challenging by cetuximab and platinum containing regimen in recurrent Head and Neck Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The EXTREME protocol is the standard of care for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) in first line. Beyond the first-line except immunotherapy, poor efficacy was reported by second-line chemotherapy. Re-challenge strategies based on a repetition of the first line with platinum and cetuximab regimens might have been an option to consider. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study in order to assess the efficacy of the cetuximab plus platinum doublet-based chemotherapy regimen in patients with R/M HNSCC progressing after at least 3 months of cetuximab maintenance (EXTREME protocol). We complete a retrospective review of all medical records from R/M HNSCC patients treated after 16 weeks with the EXTREME regimen and treated with a re-challenge strategy between January 2010 and December 2014 in our institution (Centre Paul Strauss, Strasbourg, France). RESULTS: 33 patients were identified. The re-challenged strategy provided an ORR in 33.3% of cases and a DCR of 69.6% of cases. The median OS and PFS observed from the second line were 11.2 months and 6.5 months for the subset re-challenged by EXTREME or PCC regimens respectively. The response rate between patients with a platin free interval within 3 and 6 months and greater than 6 months were equal. Drugs dose intensity were better with the PCC protocol than the EXTREME regimen used as a rechallenge. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggest re-challenging strategy by these regimens could be considered beyond the first line as an option when the platin free interval is greater than 3 months.