Blood advances
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The high incidence of thromboembolic disease, and in particular venous thromboembolism (VTE), has emerged as an important consideration in hospitalized and critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The coagulopathy of COVID-19 is postulated to result from interactions of the inflammatory and immune systems with the coagulation system, manifesting as a cytokine storm associated with hyperinflammation and coagulation and platelet activation. ⋯ There have been several guidance statements focusing on the management of VTE in hospitalized and critically ill patients with COVID-19, including the most recent statement by the Scientific and Standardization Committee of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, which includes comprehensive guidance on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of VTE in this patient population. Ongoing randomized trials that address key clinical questions, especially more intense thromboprophylactic strategies and novel antithrombotic approaches, have the potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality from VTE in hospitalized and critically ill patients with COVID-19.
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Patients with hematologic malignancies are thought to receive more aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care and have suboptimal hospice use compared with patients with solid tumors, but descriptions of EOL outcomes from comprehensive cohorts have been lacking. We used the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare dataset to describe hospice use and indicators of aggressive EOL care among Medicare beneficiaries who died of hematologic malignancies in 2008-2015. Overall, 56.5% of decedents used hospice services for median 9 days (interquartile range, 3-27), 33.0% died in an acute hospital setting, 36.8% had an intensive care unit (ICU) admission in the last 30 days of life, and 13.3% received chemotherapy within the last 14 days of life. ⋯ Hospice enrollees spent on average 41% fewer days as inpatient during the last month of life (adjusted means ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.57-0.60) and had 38% lower mean Medicare spending in the last month of life (adjusted means ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.61-0.64). These associations were consistent across histologic subgroups. In conclusion, EOL care quality outcomes and hospice enrollment were suboptimal among older decedents with hematologic cancers, but hospice use was associated with a consistent decrease in aggressive care at EOL.