Katrina Zell

Antibiotics Are an Important Identifiable Cause of Perioperative Anaphylaxis in the United States

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of perioperative anaphylaxis (PA) remains challenging, given its clinical setting, exposure to multiple medications, and rarity. Previous reports have found that PA is most frequently caused by neuromuscular-blocking agents. OBJECTIVE To determine characteristics and causes of PA at our center. METHODS We performed a retrospective medical record review to identify patients with anaphylaxis. Cases were further categorized by manifestations of anaphylaxis, age, sex, atopy, timing, tryptase level, and previous PA events. Cases with a cause identified by skin or in vitro tests were classified as IgE-mediated anaphylaxis. RESULTS Thirty cases were identified. Seventeen (57%) had an identifiable cause: antibiotics in 10 (59%)-β-lactams in and metronidazole in 1; latex in 3 (18%); and neuromuscular blockers in 4 (23%). There was no identifiable cause in 13 cases. The most frequent presenting sign of PA was hypotension (97%). Seven patients (23%) presented with cardiac arrest. A minority (17%) exhibited urticaria. Only four had a history of atopy. Most of the reactions occurred during the anesthesia induction phase. Elevated serum tryptase level was found in 10 of 10 (100%) cases of IgE-mediated anaphylaxis compared with 4 of 10 (40%) cases without an identifiable cause. CONCLUSIONS We found that antibiotics were the most common identifiable cause of PA. Our findings imply that antibiotic exposure warrants careful attention in the evaluation and management of patients with PA, particularly for those who require repeat and/or future surgeries.

Comparison of risk stratification tools in predicting outcomes of patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes treated with azanucleosides

Established prognostic tools in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were largely derived from untreated patient cohorts. Although azanucleosides are standard therapies for higher-risk (HR)-MDS, the relative prognostic performance of existing prognostic tools among patients with HR-MDS receiving azanucleoside therapy is unknown. In the MDS Clinical Research Consortium database, we compared the prognostic utility of the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), revised IPSS (IPSS-R), MD Anderson Prognostic Scoring System (MDAPSS), World Health Organization-based Prognostic Scoring System (WPSS) and the French Prognostic Scoring System (FPSS) among 632 patients who presented with HR-MDS and were treated with azanucleosides as the first-line therapy. Median follow-up from diagnosis was 15.7 months. No prognostic tool predicted the probability of achieving an objective response. Nonetheless, all five tools were associated with overall survival (OS, P=0.025 for the IPSS, P=0.011 for WPSS and P<0.001 for the other three tools). The corrected Akaike Information Criteria, which were used to compare OS with the different prognostic scoring systems as covariates (lower is better) were 4138 (MDAPSS), 4156 (FPSS), 4196 (IPSS-R), 4186 (WPSS) and 4196 (IPSS). Patients in the highest-risk groups of the prognostic tools had a median OS from diagnosis of 11−16 months and should be considered for up-front transplantation or experimental approaches.

The Efficacy of Current Prognostic Models in Predicting Outcome of Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes at the Time of Hypomethylating Agent Failure

Several prognostic scoring systems have been developed to risk stratify patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in order to serve as clinical decision tools. Such models include: the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS),[1][1] the World Health Organization (WHO) classification-based

Outcomes of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes who achieve stable disease after treatment with hypomethylating agents

Treatment with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) improves overall survival (OS) in patients who achieve a response of stable disease (SD) or better (complete remission [CR], partial remission [PR], or hematologic improvement [HI]). It is not well established if patients who achieve SD at 4-6 months of therapy should be offered different therapies to optimize their response or continue with the same regimen. Clinical data were obtained from the MDS Clinical Research Consortium database. SD was defined as no evidence of progression and without achievement of any other responses. Of 291 patients treated with AZA or DAC, 55% achieved their best response (BR) at 4-6 months. Among patients with SD at 4-6 months, 29 (20%) achieved a better response at a later treatment time point. Younger patients with lower bone marrow blast percentages, and intermediate risk per IPSS-R were more likely to achieve a better response (CR, PR, or HI) after SD at 4-6 months. Patients with SD who subsequently achieved CR had superior OS compared to patients who remained with SD (28.1 vs. 14.4 months, respectively, p=.04). In conclusion, patients treated with HMAs who achieves CR after a SD status had longer survival with continuous treatment after 6 months.

Epidemiology of anaphylaxis at a tertiary care center: A report of 730 cases

BACKGROUND Recent data reveal that the rate of anaphylaxis is increasing and suggest that idiopathic anaphylaxis may account for most of these cases. OBJECTIVE To determine the pattern of anaphylaxis at a tertiary care referral center. METHODS A retrospective electronic medical record review spanning 12 years (2002-2013) identified patients with anaphylaxis. RESULTS Of the 4,777 records reviewed, 730 patients met our anaphylaxis definition. Median age was 34.0 years; 72.7% were adults, 58.6% were female, and 86.8% were white. Median time to evaluation by an allergist was 8.8 months. Foods were the most common cause (29.9%), followed by Hymenoptera venom (24.6%), idiopathic anaphylaxis (13.7%), and medications (13.3%). The most common foods were peanuts (23.9%), tree nuts (21.6%), shellfish (16.1%), and egg and milk (both 10.1%). The most common cause of anaphylaxis in adults was Hymenoptera venom. The most frequent symptoms were urticaria and/or angioedema, reported in 84.7% of cases. Atopy was present in 43.8%. In 15.4% of cases, anaphylaxis was not the chief reason for the office visit. CONCLUSION We found food allergy was the most common overall cause of anaphylaxis, with peanut the most frequent food trigger. Idiopathic anaphylaxis was not the most common cause but accounted for 13.7% of all cases. Approximately 1 in 6 cases of anaphylaxis may be missed if a comprehensive evaluation is not performed.

Survival in patients with metachronous second primary lung cancer.

RATIONALE Four to 10% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer subsequently develop a metachronous second primary lung cancer. The decision to perform surveillance or screening imaging for patients with potentially cured lung cancer must take into account the outcomes expected when detecting metachronous second primaries. OBJECTIVES To assess potential survival differences between patients with metachronous second primary lung cancer compared to matched patients with first primary lung cancer. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with lung cancer at the Cleveland Clinic (2006-2010). Metachronous second primary lung cancer was defined as lung cancer diagnosed after a 4-year, disease-free interval from the first lung cancer, or if there were two different histologic subtypes diagnosed at different times. Patients with first primary lung cancer diagnosed in the same time period served as control subjects. Propensity score matching was performed using age, sex, smoking history, histologic subtype, and collaborative stage, with a 1:3 case-control ratio. Survival analyses were performed by Cox proportional hazards modeling and Kaplan-Meier estimates. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Forty-four patients met criteria for having a metachronous second primary lung cancer. There were no statistically significant differences between case subjects and control subjects in prognostic variables. The median survival time and 2-year overall survival rate for the metachronous second primary group, compared with control subjects, were as follows: 11.8 versus 18.4 months (P = 0.18) and 31.0 versus 40.9% (P = 0.28). The survival difference was largest in those with stage I metachronous second primaries (median survival time, 26.8 vs. 60.4 mo, P = 0.09; 2-year overall survival, 56.3 vs. 71.2%, P = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS Patients with stage I metachronous second primary lung cancer may have worse survival than those who present with a first primary lung cancer. This could influence the benefit-risk balance of screening the high-risk cohort with a previously treated lung cancer.

Multicenter study of nursing role complexity on environmental stressors and emotional exhaustion

Among nurses, work and cognitive complexity patterns of care were previously associated with environmental stressors, but it is unknown if complexity patterns are also associated with emotional exhaustion. A multicenter sample of hospital nurses (N=281) completed valid, reliable questionnaires. Data were analyzed using multivariable modeling. Registered nurse characteristics did not vary by work setting. Overall mean (standard deviation [SD]) standardized complexity of care score was 45.82 (13.73), reflecting moderate complexity during 3-hour work periods. Nurses experienced greater cognitive complexity patterns than work complexity patterns (p<0.001). In multivariable analyses, overall complexity of care and work and cognitive complexity patterns were not associated with high emotional exhaustion. Higher work complexity pattern score was associated with more environmental stressors (p=0.009), but there was no association between overall complexity of care or cognitive complexity pattern and environmental stressors. Interventions that reduce environmental stressors might reduce work complexity of care.

Rapid On-Site Evaluation in Detection of Granulomas in the Mediastinal Lymph Nodes

RATIONALE Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) of specimens collected by endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided-transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) ensures sample adequacy and triages subsequent biopsy procedures. EBUS-TBNA allows sampling of lymph nodes in granulomatous diseases; however, the ability of ROSE to predict the final diagnosis in this setting has not been well characterized. OBJECTIVES We performed a retrospective evaluation to study the utility of ROSE in the diagnosis of granulomatous diseases as well as to establish the procedure characteristics that would optimize the concordance between ROSE and final diagnosis. METHODS Charts of patients with a cytological diagnosis of granuloma by EBUS-TBNA between June 2008 and May 2013 were reviewed. Preliminary ROSE findings and final cytological diagnosis were compared. Patient demographics and procedure variables were assessed using mean (±SD). The variables collected were considered in a logistic regression analysis using concordance as the outcome. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS In our study, 255 procedures were performed to sample 625 lymph nodes that contained granulomas. An average of 2.4 (±1.2) lymph nodes were biopsied per procedure, with a mean size of 14.4 (±7.9) mm. The concordance between ROSE and the final diagnosis was 81.6%. The concordance rate was not impacted by needle size, lymph nodes size or station, number of stations biopsied, or passes per lymph node. The concordance did improve with the experience of the bronchoscopist (P < 0001). CONCLUSIONS In this single-center study, there was a high concordance between ROSE and the final cytological diagnosis for mediastinal lymph nodes containing granulomas that were sampled by EBUS-TBNA. ROSE may serve to reduce procedure time, enhance sample triaging, and obviate the need for further invasive testing. The only variable associated with increased concordance was the experience of the operator.