American journal of hematology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Patient-controlled analgesia versus continuous infusion of morphine during vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease, a randomized controlled trial.
Intravenous morphine is the treatment of choice for severe pain during vaso- occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease (SCD). However, side effects of morphine may hamper effective treatment, and high plasma levels of morphine are associated with severe complications such as acute chest syndrome. Furthermore, adequate dosing remains a problem since no objective measurement of pain severity exists and analgesia should be titrated upon the patient's reported pain. ⋯ The lower mean and cumulative morphine consumption in the PCA-group led to significant less nausea and constipation during treatment when compared with the CI-group (area under the curve, respectively, 11 versus 18 (P = 0.045) and 30 versus 45 (P = 0.021). Furthermore, a nonsignificant reduction in the duration of hospital admission of 3 days was observed in the PCA-group. PCA results in adequate pain relief at a much lower morphine consumption and should considered to be the first choice in morphine administration to sickle cell patients admitted with vaso-occlusive crisis.
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Letter Case Reports
Visceral leishmaniasis presented with Evans syndrome: a case report.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prospective phase II trial to evaluate the complications and kinetics of chimerism induction following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with fludarabine and busulfan.
This prospective trial assessed the safety and efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from a HLA-matched donor with a reduced-intensity regimen (RIST) consisting of iv fludarabine 30 mg/m(2) for 6 days and oral busulfan 4 mg/kg/day for 2 days in patients older than 50 years with hematological malignancies. Cyclosporine alone or cyclosporine with short-term methotrexate was randomized for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis. After 30 patients had been enrolled, an interim analysis was performed, and this report focuses on a precise evaluation of the toxicity profile and chimerism kinetics. ⋯ With a median follow-up of 1.5 years, overall survival and disease-free survival at 1 year was 83% and 62%, respectively. Seven patients hematologically relapsed overall, and five of them had myelodysplastic syndrome with poor prognostic factors. In older patients, RIST with fludarabine and busulfan was associated with acceptable toxicities and a satisfactory antileukemia effect, regardless of the early chimerism status.
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Comparative Study
Upper and lower respiratory tract infections by human enterovirus and rhinovirus in adult patients with hematological malignancies.
The impact of human enterovirus (HEV) and human rhinovirus (HRV) respiratory tract infections in adult patients with hematological malignancies has been infrequently reported. We retrospectively studied 31 patients with an upper or lower respiratory tract infection (URTI/LRTI) by HEV (n = 18) or HRV (n = 15). At onset, a LRTI was present in 6 (33%) and 2 (13%) episodes of HEV and HRV infections, respectively, with or without an URTI. ⋯ Pulmonary aspergillosis was diagnosed in 20% of HRV infections. Three of 11 patients (27%) with a LRTI died, but pulmonary copathogens were also involved in all cases. In conclusion, HEV and HRV can be associated with LRTI in immunocompromised patients, although their direct impact on mortality is uncertain.