Tremblay and colleagues asked whether patients receiving either routine anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy for existing conditions prior to becoming ill with COVID-19 have different outcomes from patients receiving neither therapy. After matching for existing comorbidities, this retrospective observational study finds no evidence for an effect of prediagnosis anticoagulation on mortality.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a disease that affects plasma cells and can lead to devastating clinical features such as anemia, lytic bone lesions, hypercalcemia, and renal disease. An enhanced understanding of MM disease mechanisms has led to new more targeted treatments. There is now a plethora of treatments available for MM. In this review article, our aim is to discuss many of the novel agents that are being studied or have recently been approved for the treatment of MM. These agents include the following: immunomodulators (pomalidomide), proteasome inhibitors (carfilzomib, marizomib, ixazomib, oprozomib), alkylating agents (bendamustine), AKT inhibitors (afuresertib), BTK inhibitors (ibrutinib), CDK inhibitors (dinaciclib), histone deacetylase inhibitors (panobinostat, rocilinostat, vorinostat), IL-6 inhibitors (siltuximab), kinesin spindle protein inhibitors (filanesib), monoclonal antibodies (daratumumab, elotuzumab, indatuximab, SAR650984), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors.

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is central to the management of many haematological disorders. A frequent complication of HSCT is acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a condition in which immune cells from the donor attack healthy recipient tissues. The gastrointestinal system is among the most common sites affected by acute GVHD, and severe manifestations of acute GVHD of the gut portends a poor prognosis in patients after HSCT. Acute GVHD of the gastrointestinal tract presents both diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Although the clinical manifestations are nonspecific and overlap with those of infection and drug toxicity, diagnosis is ultimately based on clinical criteria. As reliable serum biomarkers have not yet been validated outside of clinical trials, endoscopic and histopathological evaluation continue to be utilized in diagnosis. Once a diagnosis of gastrointestinal acute GVHD is established, therapy with systemic corticosteroids is typically initiated, and non-responders can be treated with a wide range of second-line therapies. In addition to treating the underlying disease, the management of complications including profuse diarrhoea, severe malnutrition and gastrointestinal bleeding is paramount. In this Review, we discuss strategies for the diagnosis and management of acute GVHD of the gastrointestinal tract as they pertain to the practising gastroenterologist.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a global pandemic and information on risk factors for worse prognosis is needed to accurately identify patients at risk and potentially provide insight into therapeutic options. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, including 3703 patients with laboratory confirmed COVID‐19, we identified risk factors associated with all‐cause mortality, need for hospitalization and mechanical ventilation. Results Male gender was independently associated with increased risk of hospitalization (Adjusted Odds Ratio (OR adj : 1.62 (95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): 1.38‐ 1.91)), mechanical ventilation (OR adj : 1.35 (95% CI: 1.08‐ 1.69)) and death (OR adj : 1.46 (95% CI: 1.17‐ 1.82)). Patients > 60 years had higher risk of hospitalization (OR adj : 5.47 (95% CI: 4.29‐ 6.96)), mechanical ventilation (OR adj : 3.26 (95% CI: 2.08‐ 5.11)) and death (OR adj : 13.04 (95% CI: 6.25‐ 27.24)). Congestive heart failure (OR adj : 1.47 (95% CI: 1.06‐ 2.02)) and dementia (OR adj : 2.03 (95% CI: 1.46‐ 2.83)) were associated with increased odds of death, as well as the presence of more than two comorbidities (OR adj : 1.90 (95% CI: 1.35‐ 2.68)). Conclusion COVID‐19 patients of older age, male gender or having more than two comorbidities are at higher risk of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation and death, and should therefore be closely monitored. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.