Use of interferon-α in laryngeal papillomatosis: eight years of the Cuban national programme

1997 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Deuñas ◽  
V. Alcantud ◽  
F. Alvarez ◽  
J. Arteaga ◽  
A. Benítez ◽  
...  

AbstractLaryngeal papillomatosis is one of the first diseases where interferon (IFN) was found to be effective. In 1983, a programme for the treatment of all such cases started in Cuba. Up to December 1991, 125 patients (92 children, 33 adults) have been treated: 102 with leucocyte IFN-α, 12 with recombinant IFN-α-2b, and 11 have received both preparations. Case management consisted of surgical removal of the lesions followed by an IFN schedule starting with 105 IU/kg of weight in children or 6 × 106 IU in adults, i.m. daily. The dose was progressively reduced, as long as no relapses occurred. At the end of the one-year schedule the doses were reduced to 5 × 104 IU/kg in children or 3 × 106 IU in adults, weekly. If there was a relapse, it was removed surgically and the patient returned to a higher dose level. Most cases (89; 71 per cent) have not relapsed after the treatment; 60 of them have been followed for more than three years. In those with relapses, the frequency of recurrence decreased in all but four patients. The treatment seemed to be more effective if initiated less than three months after the disease onset. The tracheostomy could be removed in five out of seven patients who needed it before the IFN treatment and was necessary in only three new cases during IFN treatment. In two of these, decannulation was possible later on. In a total of 14 patients relapses persisted after several cycles of IFN treatment. They were considered resistant to such treatment. No severe side effects were reported. The most frequent ones were fever, drowsiness, increased bronchial secretion, chills and headache. The establishment of this programme has maintained the disease under control in Cuba.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 3962-3962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Kao ◽  
Wei Xu ◽  
Vikas Gupta ◽  
Mark Minden ◽  
Andre Schuh ◽  
...  

Abstract Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in patients over age 60 years is a poor prognosis disease with complete remission rate of 50–60% and median overall survival of less than a year. Between July 2004 and June 2007, we treated 17 elderly patients with newly diagnosed ALL with a modified pediatric protocol that included a remission induction phase, a CNS prophylaxis phase with intrathecal chemotherapy × 4, a 21-week intensification phase (7 cycles × 3 weeks each), and a 72-week maintenance phase. Induction chemotherapy consisted of vincristine 2 mg weekly × 3, doxorubicin 30mg/m2 × 2 doses, methotrexate 40mg/m2 × 1, asparaginase 12,000/m2 U × 1, and dexamethasone 40mg/day × 8 doses; BCR-ABL+ patients received imatinib mesylate 400 mg daily × 16 days instead of asparaginase. The intensification phase consisted of vincristine 2 mg × 7 doses, doxorubicin 30mg/m2 × 7 doses, asparaginase 6000 U/m2 weekly × 21 doses, 6-mercaptopurine 14/21 days, and dexamethasone 6 mg BID × 5/21 days. BCR-ABL+ patients received imatinib 400 mg daily × 14/21 days instead of asparaginase. Maintenance was the same as intensification except that no asparaginase was given. The median age was 66 years (range 60–78 years). Seven patients (41%) were BCR-ABL+ and four (24%) were pre-B with WBC > 30. Major side effects during the induction phase included infection (71%), hyperglycemia requiring insulin (24%), and cardiac toxicity (18%). The complete remission (CR) rate was 71% with an induction mortality of 29%. Of the five induction deaths, four were due to bacterial sepsis or pneumonia, and one was due to tumor lysis syndrome. CNS prophylaxis was well-tolerated except in one patient who required IV hydration for nausea/vomiting. Eleven patients proceeded to intensification. Major side effects during the intensification phase included infections (64%), peripheral neuropathy (64%), thrombosis (27%), and grade 3 nausea/vomiting (27%). Two patients required hospitalization during the intensification phase; there was one myocardial infarction and one acute pancreatitis. Eleven patients proceeded to the maintenance phase; major side effects during maintenance included infections (36%) and grade 3 peripheral neuropathy (18%). Two patients (17%) have relapsed, both during early maintenance phase; both had had a number of dose modifications and delays during intensification. The one year overall survival (OS) was 71% and the median OS has not been reached. After a median follow-up duration of 17 months (range 9–40 months), the median relapse-free survival (RFS) of the CR patients has not been reached; the one year RFS was 82%. These results show that administering a modified pediatric protocol to patients over age 60 years with ALL is feasible with an improved CR rate than generally reported. The OS and RFS also compare favorably to previously reported results, although further follow-up is required. However, induction mortality was high, and infectious complications persisted throughout the entire course of induction and intensification, though much diminished during the maintenance phase. Accrual to the protocol is continuing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 1749-1755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csilla András ◽  
Levente Bodoki ◽  
Melinda Nagy-Vincze ◽  
Zoltán Griger ◽  
Emese Csiki ◽  
...  

Abstract Association between cancer and myositis has been extensively reported and malignancy is a potentially life-threating complication in myositis. In this retrospective study authors give an overview of Hungarian cancer-associated myositis (CAM) patients treated at a single centre managing 450 myositis patients. All patients were diagnosed according to Bohan and Peter. Statistical analysis of disease onset, age, sex, muscle, skin and extramuscular symptoms, muscle enzymes, presence of antibodies, treatment and prognosis was performed. 43 patients could be considered as having CAM. 83.72% had cancer within one year of diagnosis of myositis. Most common localizations were ductal carcinoma of breast and adenocarcinoma of lung. Significant differences were observed between CAM and the non-CAM control patients: DM:PM ratio was 2.31:1 vs. 0.87:1, respectively (p = 0.029), age at diagnosis was 56.60 ± 12.79 vs. 38.88 ± 10.88 years, respectively (p < 0.001). Tumour-treatment was the following: surgical removal in 55.81%, chemotherapy in 51.1%, radiotherapy in 39.53%, hormone treatment in 18.6%, combination therapy in 51.16% of patients. Muscle enzyme levels of patients undergoing surgery were significantly reduced after intervention. 36 patients died (83.72%); 25 DM (83.33%) and 11 PM patients (84.62%); 5 years survival was 15.4% for PM and 27.5% for DM. This study demonstrates that DM, distal muscle weakness, asymmetric Raynaud’s phenomenon, older age, ANA-negativity are risk factors for developing malignancy and polymyositis patients have less chance of long-lasting survival. It is very important to think about cancer and follow every single myositis patient in the clinical routine because survival rate of CAM is very poor.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
Jenny Walker

Abstract Rating patients with head trauma and multiple neurological injuries can be challenging. The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Fifth Edition, Section 13.2, Criteria for Rating Impairment Due to Central Nervous System Disorders, outlines the process to rate impairment due to head trauma. This article summarizes the case of a 57-year-old male security guard who presents with headache, decreased sensation on the left cheek, loss of sense of smell, and problems with memory, among other symptoms. One year ago the patient was assaulted while on the job: his Glasgow Coma Score was 14; he had left periorbital ecchymosis and a 2.5 cm laceration over the left eyelid; a small right temporoparietal acute subdural hematoma; left inferior and medial orbital wall fractures; and, four hours after admission to the hospital, he experienced a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. This patient's impairment must include the following components: single seizure, orbital fracture, infraorbital neuropathy, anosmia, headache, and memory complaints. The article shows how the ratable impairments are combined using the Combining Impairment Ratings section. Because this patient has not experienced any seizures since the first occurrence, according to the AMA Guides he is not experiencing the “episodic neurological impairments” required for disability. Complex cases such as the one presented here highlight the need to use the criteria and estimates that are located in several sections of the AMA Guides.


VASA ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asciutto ◽  
Lindblad

Background: The aim of this study is to report the short-term results of catheter-directed foam sclerotherapy (CDFS) in the treatment of axial saphenous vein incompetence. Patients and methods: Data of all patients undergoing CDFS for symptomatic primary incompetence of the great or small saphenous vein were prospectively collected. Treatment results in terms of occlusion rate and patients’ grade of satisfaction were analysed. All successfully treated patients underwent clinical and duplex follow-up examinations one year postoperatively. Results: Between September 2006 and September 2010, 357 limbs (337 patients) were treated with CDFS at our institution. Based on the CEAP classification, 64 were allocated to clinical class C3 , 128 to class C4, 102 to class C5 and 63 to class C6. Of the 188 patients who completed the one year follow up examination, 67 % had a complete and 14 % a near complete obliteration of the treated vessel. An ulcer-healing rate of 54 % was detected. 92 % of the patients were satisfied with the results of treatment. We registered six cases of thrombophlebitis and two cases of venous thromboembolism, all requiring treatment. Conclusions: The short-term results of CDFS in patients with axial vein incompetence are acceptable in terms of occlusion and complications rates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-302
Author(s):  
Damian Mowczan ◽  

The main objective of this paper was to estimate and analyse transition-probability matrices for all 16 of Poland’s NUTS-2 level regions (voivodeship level). The analysis is conducted in terms of the transitions among six expenditure classes (per capita and per equivalent unit), focusing on poverty classes. The period of analysis was two years: 2015 and 2016. The basic aim was to identify both those regions in which the probability of staying in poverty was the highest and the general level of mobility among expenditure classes. The study uses a two-year panel sub-sample of unidentified unit data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO), specifically the data concerning household budget surveys. To account for differences in household size and demographic structure, the study used expenditures per capita and expenditures per equivalent unit simultaneously. To estimate the elements of the transition matrices, a classic maximum-likelihood estimator was used. The analysis used Shorrocks’ and Bartholomew’s mobility indices to assess the general mobility level and the Gini index to assess the inequality level. The results show that the one-year probability of staying in the same poverty class varies among regions and is lower for expenditures per equivalent units. The highest probabilities were identified in Podkarpackie (expenditures per capita) and Opolskie (expenditures per equivalent unit), and the lowest probabilities in Kujawsko-Pomorskie (expenditures per capita) and Małopolskie (expenditures per equivalent unit). The highest level of general mobility was noted in Małopolskie, for both categories of expenditures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. Smith

The United States is in a bind. On the one hand, we need millions of additional citizens with at least one year of successful post-secondary experience to adapt to the knowledge economy. Both the Gates and Lumina Foundations, and our President, have championed this goal in different ways. On the other hand, we have a post-secondary system that is trapped between rising costs and stagnant effectiveness, seemingly unable to respond effectively to this challenge. This paper analyzes several aspects of this problem, describes changes in the society that create the basis for solutions, and offers several examples from Kaplan University of emerging practice that suggests what good practice might look like in a world where quality-assured mass higher education is the norm.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Maksim Rykov ◽  
Ivan Turabov ◽  
Yuriy Punanov ◽  
Svetlana Safonova

Background: St. Petersburg is a city of federal importance with a large number of primary patients, identified annually. Objective: analysis of the main indicators characterizing medical care for children with cancer in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Methods: The operative reports for 2013-2017 of the Health Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg and the Health Committee of the Leningrad Region were analyzed. Results. In 2013-2017 in the Russian Federation, 18 090 primary patients were identified, 927 (5.1%) of them in the analyzed subjects: in St. Petersburg - 697 (75,2%), in the Leningrad Region - 230 (24,8%). For 5 years, the number of primary patients increased in St. Petersburg - by 36%, in the Leningrad Region - by 2,5%. The incidence increased in St. Petersburg by 18,1% (from 14,9 in 2013 to 17,6 in 2017 per 100 000 of children aged 0-17). The incidence in the Leningrad Region fell by 4.9% (from 14.4 in 2013 to 13.7 in 2017). Mortality in 2016-2017 in St. Petersburg increased by 50% (from 2 to 3), in the Leningrad Region - by 12,5% (from 2,4 to 2,7). The one-year mortality rate in St. Petersburg increased by 3,9% (from 2,5 to 6,4%). In the Leningrad Region, the one-year mortality rate decreased from 6,5% in 2016 to 0 in 2017. The number of pediatric oncological beds did not change in St. Petersburg (0,9 per 10,000 children aged 0-17 years) and the Leningrad Region (0). In St. Petersburg patients were not identified actively in 2016-2017; in the Leningrad Region their percentage decreased from 8,7 to 0. The number of oncologists increased in St. Petersburg from 0,09 to 0.12 (+33,3%), in the Leningrad Region - from 0 to 0,03. Conclusion: Morbidity in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region is significantly different, which indicates obvious defects in statistical data. Patients were not identified during routine preventive examinations which indicate a low oncologic alertness of district pediatric physicians. Delivery of medical care for children with cancer and the statistical data accumulation procedures should be improved.


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