Sedation of children for electroencephalography (EEG) recordings is often required. Chloral hydrate (CH) requires medical clearance and continuous monitoring. To try to reduce personnel and time resources associated with CH administration, a new sedation policy was formulated. This study included all children who underwent an EEG during a consecutive 3-month period following the implementation of the new sedation policy, which consists of the sequential administration of melatonin, hydroxyzine (if needed), and CH (if needed). The comparator group included all children with a recorded EEG during a consecutive 3-month period when the sedation policy consisted of the sole administration of CH. A total of 803 children with a mean age of 7.9 years (SD = 5.1, range = 0.5-17.7 years) were included. Sleep EEG recordings were obtained in 364 of 385 children (94.6%) using the old sedation policy and in 409 of 418 children (97.9%) using the new one. With the new sedation policy, the percentage of children requiring CH dropped from 37.1% to 6.7% (P < .001). Time to sleep onset and duration of sleep were not significantly different between the 2 policies. The new sedation policy was very well tolerated. The new sedation policy is very safe, is highly efficacious in obtaining sleep EEG recordings, and will result in substantial saving of time and personnel resources.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive primary brain tumor with a poor prognosis. The 2021 WHO CNS5 classification has further stressed the importance of molecular signatures in diagnosis although therapeutic breakthroughs are still lacking. In this review article, updates on the current and novel therapies in IDH-wildtype GBM will be discussed. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13311-022-01251-6.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with many neurological complications affecting the central nervous system. Purpose: Our aim was to describe a case of COVID-19 associated with a probable variant of acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE). Results: A 60-year-old man who presented with a 3-day history of dyspnea, fever, and cough tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Five days following his admission, the patient was intubated secondary to respiratory failure. Following his extubation 16 days later, he was found to have a left-sided weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed hemorrhagic rim-enhancing lesions involving the right thalamus, left hippocampus, and left parahippocampal gyrus. These lesions showed decreased relative cerebral blood flow on MR perfusion and restricted on diffusion-weighted imaging. These neuroimaging findings were consistent with ANE. The left-sided weakness gradually improved over the subsequent weeks. Conclusions: We concluded that COVID-19 can be associated with ANE, a condition believed to be the result of an immune-mediated process with activation of the innate immune system. Future studies must address whether biological drugs targeting the pro-inflammatory cytokines could prevent the development of this condition.

Background Bevacizumab (BEV), at a standard dose of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks is associated with prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) but no improvement in overall survival (OS) in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). Few studies have examined the potential dose-dependent efficacy of BEV. In Ontario, reimbursement for the costs of BEV varies, and as a result, our practice began to routinely use lower dose regimens. The main aim of this study was to ensure that there was no harm to patients who received the low dose protocol. Methods A single-center retrospective study of patients given BEV for rGBM between 2015–2020 was performed. Clinical and treatment data including BEV dose regimen (SD [10 mg/kg every 2 weeks] vs LD [5 mg/kg every 2–3 weeks or 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks]) received at the time of rGBM diagnosis were captured. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) on BEV were compared using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Log-rank test was used to compare potential predictive factors. Cox regression model was performed for multivariable analysis of OS and PFS. Results A total of 96 patients were included with a median follow-up duration of 6.84 months (range 1.12–50.63 months) from the date of the first infusion. The LD group consisted of 55 of the 96 patients. By virtue of funding mechanisms for BEV, the median age in the LD group was significantly higher (62 vs 54 years p = 0.009). There was no difference in MGMT status between the 2 groups (p = 0.60). Eight patients received lomustine with BEV (3 from the SD and 5 from the LD. The LD group had prolonged median PFS (5.89 months versus 3.22 months; p = 0.0112) and OS (10.23 months versus 6.28 months; p = 0.0010). Multivariable analysis including the dose of BEV, the extent of resection, gender, and age revealed that standard dose of BEV, subtotal resection, and female sex were associated with worse overall survival. Nine patients in the SD group vs 18 patients in the LD group reported an adverse event related to BEV. Conclusions For patients with recurrent GBM, we found that a low dose regimen of BEV was associated with prolonged OS and PFS compared to the standard dose regimen. Lower dose schedules may be a better and more cost-effective option for patients with rGBM. Lower costs might provide more equitable access to this very important palliative drug.

e14042 Background: Bevacizumab (bev), at a standard dose of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks is associated with prolonged progression free survival (PFS) but no improvement in overall survival (OS) in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). While there are reports of lower dose regimens of bev being better tolerated and effective in rGBM, this has not been studied in comparison to a standard dose of bev. The main aim of this study is to report on the dose-dependent efficacy of bev by comparing PFS and OS in rGBM patients receiving standard dose (SD) vs lower dose (LD) of bev. Methods: A single-center retrospective study of patients with rGBM started on bev between 2015 – 2020 was performed. Clinical and treatment data including bev dose regimen (SD [10 mg/kg every 2 weeks] vs LD [5 mg/kg every 2-3 weeks or 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks]) received at the time of rGBM diagnosis were captured. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) on bev were compared between the two groups using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Log-rank test was used to compare potential predictive factors. Cox regression model was performed for multivariable analysis of OS and PFS. Results: A total of 96 patients were included with a median follow-up duration of 6.84 months (range 1.12-50.63 months) from date of the first infusion. The LD group consisted of 55/96 patients (57 %) and the age in the LD group was significantly older than the SD group (62 vs 54 years p = 0.009). There was no significant difference in MGMT status between the 2 groups (p = 0.73). Eight patients received lomustine with bev (3 from the standard and 5 from the low dose group). The LD group had prolonged OS (10.23 months versus 6.28 months; p-value = 0.0010) and PFS (5.89 months versus 3.22 months; p-value = 0.0112). Multivariable analysis including dose of bev, extent of resection, gender and age revealed that standard dose of bev, subtotal resection and female sex were associated with worse OS. Eleven patients in the SD group vs 15 patients in the LD group reported an adverse event related to bev. Conclusions: In this study we demonstrate that a reduced dose of bev (5 mg every 2-3 weeks) prolonged both the OS and PFS compared to a standard dose of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks. This may represent a better and more cost-effective option for patients with rGBM in need of salvage therapy.

BackgroundBevacizumab (BEV), at a standard dose of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks is associated with prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) but no improvement in overall survival (OS) in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). Few studies have examined the potential dose-dependent e cacy of BEV. In Ontario, reimbursement for the costs of BEV varies, and as a result, our practice began to routinely use lower dose regimens. The main aim of this study was to ensure that there was no harm to patients who received the low dose protocol. MethodsA single-center retrospective study of patients given BEV for rGBM between 2015-2020 was performed. Clinical and treatment data including BEV dose regimen (SD [10 mg/kg every 2 weeks] vs LD [5 mg/kg every 2-3 weeks or 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks]) received at the time of rGBM diagnosis were captured.Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) on BEV were compared using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Log-rank test was used to compare potential predictive factors. Cox regression model was performed for multivariable analysis of OS and PFS. ResultsA total of 96 patients were included with a median follow-up duration of 6.84 months (range 1.12-50.63 months) from the date of the rst infusion. The LD group consisted of 55 of the 96 patients. By virtue of funding mechanisms for BEV, the median age in the LD group was signi cantly higher (62 vs 54 years p = 0.009). There was no difference in MGMT status between the 2 groups (p = 0.60). Eight patients received lomustine with BEV (3 from the SD and 5 from the LD. The LD group had prolonged median PFS (5.89 months versus 3.22 months; p = 0.0112) and OS (10.23 months versus 6.28 months; p = 0.0010).Multivariable analysis including the dose of BEV, the extent of resection, gender, and age revealed that standard dose of BEV, subtotal resection, and female sex were associated with worse overall survival.Nine patients in the SD group vs 18 patients in the LD group reported an adverse event related to BEV. ConclusionsFor patients with recurrent GBM, we found that a low dose regimen of BEV was associated with prolonged OS and PFS compared to the standard dose regimen. Lower dose schedules may be a better and more cost-effective option for patients with rGBM. Lower costs might provide more equitable access to this very important palliative drug.

The Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status are clinician-reported outcomes critical in guiding management and prognostication in patients with primary brain tumors as they can reflect longitudinal functional changes. However, they are subjective. The Neurologic Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (NANO) scale is a metric with specific neurological domains that was subsequently developed to provide an objective standardized measure of the neurologic functional status of patients, but how longitudinal changes in NANO scale relate to KPS or ECOG scores is unknown. METHODS: A linear mixed model analysis involving 111 patients with primary brain tumors was performed. RESULTS: Statistically significant associations were identified between changes in specific NANO domains and KPS or ECOG scores. After controlling for time course both in univariable and multivariable analyses, worsening scores in gait, language and behavior domains showed significant association with decreased KPS. Gait and behavior were demonstrated to be significantly associated with ECOG both in univariable and multivariable analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The neurologic status of patients with a primary brain tumor is closely related to their performance status. In particular, the patient’s cognitive status and mobility have the greatest impact on their functional status and therefore their prognosis. Interventions and supportive care targeting these domains of function may help improve the outcomes of patients with brain tumors.