Background: Prognostic factors of poor outcome in patients with hematological malignancies and COVID-19 are poorly defined. Patients and methods: This was a Spanish transplant group and cell therapy (GETH) multicenter retrospective observational study, which included a large cohort of blood cancer patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection through PCR assays from March 1st 2020 to May 15th 2020. Results: We included 367 pediatric and adult patients with hematological malignancies, including recipients of autologous (ASCT) (n = 58) or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) (n = 65) from 41 hospitals in Spain. Median age of patients was 64 years (range 1-93.8). Recipients of ASCT and allo-SCT showed lower mortality rates (17% and 18%, respectively) compared to non-SCT patients (31%) (p = 0.02). Prognostic factors identified for day 45 overall mortality (OM) by logistic regression multivariate analysis included age > 70 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.8, p = 0.011]; uncontrolled hematological malignancy (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.2, p < 0.0001); ECOG 3-4 (OR, 2.56, 95% CI 1.4-4.7, p = 0.003); neutropenia (< 0.5 × 10 9 /L) (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.1, p = 0.01); and a C-reactive protein (CRP) > 20 mg/dL (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.4, p < 0.0001). In multivariate analysis of 216 patients with very severe COVID-19, treatment with azithromycin or low dose corticosteroids was associated with lower OM (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.2-0.89 and OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.87, respectively, p = 0.02) whereas the use of hidroxycloroquine did not show significant improvement in OM (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.37-1.1, P = 0.1).
Objective To describe the cohort of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in our hospital and to determine the increased risk of severe coronavirus disease regarding no IRD patients. Methods Retrospective single-center observational study of patients with IRD actively monitored in the Department of Rheumatology who were hospitalized due to COVID- 19. Results 41 (1,8%) out of 2,315 patients admitted due to severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia suffered from an IRD. The admission Odds ratio (OR) for IRD patients was 1.87 against the general population, and it was higher in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Twenty-seven patients were receiving treatment for IRD with corticosteroids, 23 with conventional DMARDs, 12 with biologics (7 rituximab, 4 anti-TNF and 1 abatacept) and 1 with JAK inhibitors. Ten deaths were registered among patients with IRD. A higher hospitalization rate and a higher number of deaths were observed in patients treated with rituximab (OR=12.8) but not in patients treated with anti-TNF (OR=0.9). Conclusion Patients with IRD, especially autoimmune diseases and patients treated with rituximab, may be at higher risk of severe pneumonia due to SARS-Cov 2, compared to the general population. More studies are needed to analyze this association further in order to help managing these patients during the pandemic.
We report the characteristics of relapse, treatment response, and outcomes of 145 elderly patients with multiple myeloma in first relapse after front-line treatment with VMP or VTP. Reappearance of CRAB symptoms (113 patients) and more aggressive forms of disease (32 patients) were the most common patterns of relapse. After second-line therapy, 75 (51.7%) patients achieved at partial response and 16 (11%) complete response (CR). Overall survival was longer among patients receiving VMP as front-line induction (21.4 vs. 14.4 months, P=0.037), in patients achieving CR (28.3 vs. 14.8 months; P=0.04), and in patients without aggressive relapse (28.6 vs. 7.6 months; P=0.0007).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.