scholarly journals Staged testing as a solution to the challenges of testing lower risk patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1497-1500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkatesh L. Murthy ◽  
Khurram Nasir
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P Lodise ◽  
Sergey Izmailyan ◽  
Melanie Olesky ◽  
Kenneth Lawrence

Abstract Background Expert guidelines discourage use of antipseudomonal β-lactams and fluoroquinolones in lower-risk patients with community-acquired complicated intra-abdominal infection (CA cIAI). Compliance with these recommendations across US hospitals is unclear. This study sought to determine treatment patterns and associated outcomes among adult hospitalized lower-risk patients with CA cIAI. Methods A study using data from the Premier Healthcare Database (10/2015–12/2017) was performed. Inclusion criteria: age ≥18 years; hospitalized; had a cIAI at admission; and received antibiotics within the first 4 hospital days. Patients were excluded if they were high risk, were transferred from another health care facility, had a recent hospital admission, or received dialysis within 30 days of admission. Empiric antibiotic treatment patterns and associated outcomes were quantified. Results Overall, 46 722 (66%) patients with cIAIs met the lower-risk CA IAI study criteria. Among lower-risk CA IAI patients, the mean (SD) age was 53.4 (18.2) years, and 71% had a Charlson Comorbidity Index score of 0. The most common diagnosis was acute appendicitis with peritonitis (59.7%). Among lower-risk CA IAI patients, 54% received piperacillin/tazobactam, 20% received a fluoroquinolone (FQ), 11% received ceftriaxone, and 7% received ampicillin/sulbactam. Overall, the median hospital length of stay was 4 days and median costs were $12 345 USD. Nearly 90% of patients were discharged home, and <1% died. Outcomes were similar across all empiric treatments received. Conclusions Overuse of antipseudomonal β-lactams and fluoroquinolones was commonplace among lower-risk CA IAI patients. These findings can serve as the basis for an antimicrobial stewardship initiative in hospitals aspiring to reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.


Author(s):  
James P. Dunn

Before the era of antiretroviral therapy (ART), cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis was the most common ocular opportunistic infection in patients with AIDS, occurring in up to 30% of patients. The incidence of CMV retinitis, its natural history, and the indications for and response to therapy depend in part on whether at-risk patients are taking ART. Symptoms of CMV retinitis are nonspecific and include floaters, light flashes, peripheral visual field loss, and blurred central vision. Patients taking ART, especially those with immune recovery, are at lower risk of CMV retinitis than are patients who remain profoundly immunosuppressed; thus, patients taking ART do not need to be screened as often.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-331
Author(s):  
Jonas Banefelt ◽  
Maria Lindh ◽  
Maria K Svensson ◽  
Björn Eliasson ◽  
Ming-Hui Tai

Abstract Aims Clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of intensive statin therapy in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and cardiovascular (CV) events. Our objective was to examine statin titration patterns and the association between titration patterns and subsequent CV events in very high-risk patients. Methods and results Using Swedish national population-based registry data, we identified 192 435 patients with very high risk of atherosclerotic CV disease initiated on moderate-intensity statin therapy between 2006 and 2013. Outcomes of interest were titration to high-intensity therapy and the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) composite (myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, and CV death) outcome. Cumulative incidence of MACE was assessed by titration status 1-year post-treatment initiation in patients adherent to treatment during the first year, using a 12-week cut-off from initiation to define early, delayed and no up-titration to high-intensity statins. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs). In 144 498 eligible patients, early titration was associated with significantly lower risk of MACE in the subsequent 2 years compared to no up-titration (HR 0.76, P < 0.01]. Delayed up-titration was associated with a smaller reduction (HR 0.88, P = 0.08). The majority of patients did not up-titrate. Conclusion Early up-titration to high-intensity statins was independently associated with lower risk of subsequent CV events compared to no up-titration. Delayed up-titration was not associated with the same benefit. Despite the higher risk associated with no up-titration, few patients at very high CV risk who started treatment on moderate-intensity up-titrated to high intensity, indicating a potential need for more aggressive lipid management of these patients in clinical practice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson B. Watts

The objective this study was to summarize long-term risks associated with bisphosphonate therapy. Search of relevant medical publications for data from clinical trials, trial extensions, observational studies and post-marketing reports. Trial extensions and modifications did not reveal significant long-term safety issues. Observational data suggest at least as many benefits as risks. Post-marketing reports of musculoskeletal pain, osteonecrosis of the jaw and atypical femur fractures have been widely circulated in the lay press. Most focus on long-terms risks has been on osteonecrosis of the jaw and atypical femur fractures which occur in patients who have not received bisphosphonate therapy but may be more frequent (though still uncommon) in patients who have been on treatment for 5 years or longer. Lower-risk patients may be able to stop treatment after 3-5 years for a “drug holiday,” which mitigates these long-term risks; for higher risk patients, therapy through 6-10 years appears to be advisable and offers more benefits than risks.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 430-430
Author(s):  
Terra L. Lasho ◽  
Naseema Gangat ◽  
Christy Finke ◽  
Rebecca R. Laborde ◽  
Curtis A. Hanson ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 430 Background: The Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System (DIPSS-plus) uses eight risk factors to predict overall survival (OS) in primary myelofibrosis (PMF): unfavorable karyotype, peripheral blood (PB) blast count ≥1%, platelet count <100 × 109/L, white blood cell count (WBC) >25 × 109/L, hemoglobin level <10 g/dL, red blood cell transfusion need, constitutional symptoms, and age >65 years (JCO 2011;29:392). Among these risk factors, karyotype holds a dominant role in predicting both overall (OS) and leukemia-free (LFS) survival (Blood 2011;118:4595). More recently, certain PMF-associated somatic mutations (IDH, EZH2, ASXL1, SRSF2) have been reported (in print or at recent meetings) to carry prognostic relevance for OS or LFS in PMF while other mutations (JAK2, MPL, TET2, SF3B1) did not. The purpose of the current study was to examine the individual and combined prognostic relevance of the former in the context of cytogenetic risk stratification and DIPSS-plus. Methods: An updated Mayo Clinic database of 1008 karyotypically- and DIPSS-plus-annotated patients with PMF was used to identify study patients in whom DNA at time of referral was available for mutation analysis. OS and LFS were calculated from the time of referral, which was also the time of study sample collection. Results: In an ongoing project, a total of 397 PMF patients have so far been studied for IDH1/2 (n=367), SRSF2 (n=355), ASXL1 (n=260) and EZH2 (n=43) mutations. The corresponding mutational frequencies were 5.4% (20/367), 14.4% (51/355), 31.2% (81/260) and 7% (3/43). These mutations were not exclusive of either each other or JAK2 or MPL mutations and a significant clustering was noted between SRSF2 and IDH mutations; IDH mutational frequency was 21% (10/48) in SRSF2-mutated versus 3% (9/279) in unmutated cases (P<0.0001). Mutational hotspots were P95 in exon 1 for SRSF2 and exons 1, 2 and 5 for ASXL1. OS and LFS effect have so far been examined for ASXL1, SRSF2 and IDH 1/2 mutations; in univariate analysis, all three mutations significantly affected OS (ASXL1 RR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–2.7; SRSF2 RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2–2.5; IDH 1/2 RR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–3.1) whereas only IDH 1/2 (RR 5.5, 95% CI 2.5–11.8) and SRSF2 (RR 3.5, 95% CI 1.7–7.0) but not ASXL1 (p=0.29) mutations affected LFS. The observed prognostic relevance for OS was sustained during multivariable analysis that included ASXL1 with either SRSF2 or IDH mutations, as co-variates, whereas both IDH and SRSF2 mutations remained significant for LFS. Based on the above observations, study patients were classified into two groups: i) unmutated for ASXL1, SRSF2 and IDH1/2 (all unmutated; n=146) and ii) mutated for at least one of the three mutations (one or more mutated; n=130); the latter group constituted 62%, 52%, 18% and 27% of DIPSS-plus high, intermediate-2, intermediate-1and low risk patients, respectively (p<0.0001). The corresponding rates for patients with favorable and unfavorable karyotype were 47% and 43% (p=0.7) and for normal vs. abnormal karyotype were 53% and 36% (p=0.008). The “all unmutated group”, compared to the “one or more mutated group” enjoyed a significantly superior OS (RR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4–0.7) and LFS (RR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2–0.7) that was DIPSS-plus-independent for OS (p=0.03) and karyotype-independent for LFS (p=0.004). The prognostic value of distinguishing “all unmutated” from “one or more mutated” patient groups was most evident for DIPSS-plus intermediate-2 or lower risk groups (p=0.002) and its added value for high-risk group was limited (p=0.23) (Figure). Conclusions: A concomitant analysis strategy reveals that SRSF2, ASXL1 and IDH mutations carry inter-independent prognostic relevance for overall or leukemia-free survival in PMF. Any one of these three mutations is more likely to occur in patients with normal karyotype and such an event predicts shortened survival that is not accounted for by DIPSS-plus and a higher risk of leukemic transformation that is independent of karyotype. The current study suggests that such information might be useful in treatment decisions involving intermediate-2 or lower risk patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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