Guidance for the Management of Patients with Vascular Disease or Cardiovascular Risk Factors and COVID-19: Position Paper from VAS-European Independent Foundation in Angiology/Vascular Medicine

COVID-19 is also manifested with hypercoagulability, pulmonary intravascular coagulation, microangiopathy, and venous thromboembolism (VTE) or arterial thrombosis. Predisposing risk factors to severe COVID-19 are male sex, underlying cardiovascular disease, or cardiovascular risk factors including noncontrolled diabetes mellitus or arterial hypertension, obesity, and advanced age. The VAS-European Independent Foundation in Angiology/Vascular Medicine draws attention to patients with vascular disease (VD) and presents an integral strategy for the management of patients with VD or cardiovascular risk factors (VD-CVR) and COVID-19. VAS recommends (1) a COVID-19-oriented primary health care network for patients with VD-CVR for identification of patients with VD-CVR in the community and patients' education for disease symptoms, use of eHealth technology, adherence to the antithrombotic and vascular regulating treatments, and (2) close medical follow-up for efficacious control of VD progression and prompt application of physical and social distancing measures in case of new epidemic waves. For patients with VD-CVR who receive home treatment for COVID-19, VAS recommends assessment for (1) disease worsening risk and prioritized hospitalization of those at high risk and (2) VTE risk assessment and thromboprophylaxis with rivaroxaban, betrixaban, or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for those at high risk. For hospitalized patients with VD-CVR and COVID-19, VAS recommends (1) routine thromboprophylaxis with weight-adjusted intermediate doses of LMWH (unless contraindication); (2) LMWH as the drug of choice over unfractionated heparin or direct oral anticoagulants for the treatment of VTE or hypercoagulability; (3) careful evaluation of the risk for disease worsening and prompt application of targeted antiviral or convalescence treatments; (4) monitoring of D-dimer for optimization of the antithrombotic treatment; and (5) evaluation of the risk of VTE before hospital discharge using the IMPROVE-D-dimer score and prolonged post-discharge thromboprophylaxis with rivaroxaban, betrixaban, or LMWH

New orally active anticoagulant agents for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients

International audiencePatients with cancer have a 6–7-fold higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) as compared with non-cancer patients. Effective and safe anticoagulation for the prevention and treatment of VTE is the cornerstone of the management of patients with cancer, aiming to decrease morbidity and mortality and to improve quality of life. Unfractionated heparin, low molecular weight heparins, fondaparinux and vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are used in the prevention and treatment of VTE in cancer patients. Heparins and fondaparinux are administered subcutaneously. VKAs are orally active, but they have a narrow therapeutic window, numerous food and drug interactions, and treatment requires regular laboratory monitoring and dose adjustment. These limitations among others have important negative impact on the quality of life of patients and decrease adherence to the treatment. New orally active anticoagulant (NOAC) agents are specific inhibitors of activated factor Xa (FXa) (rivaroxaban and apixaban) or thrombin (dabigatran). It is expected that NOACs will improve antithrombotic treatment. Cancer patients are a particular group that could benefit from treatment with NOACs. However, NOACs present some significant interactions with drugs frequently used in cancer patients, which might influence their pharmacokinetics, compromising their efficacy and safety. In the present review, we analyzed the available data from the subgroups of patients with active cancer who were included in Phase III clinical trials that assessed the efficacy and safety of NOACs in the prevention and treatment of VTE. The data from the Phase III trials in prophylaxis of VTE by rivaroxaban or apixaban highlight that these two agents, although belonging to the same pharmacological group (direct inhibitors of factor Xa), have substantially different profiles of efficacy and safety, especially in hospitalized acutely ill medical patients with active cancer. A limited number of patients with VTE and active cancer were included in the Phase III trials (EINSTEIN, AMPLIFY, and RECOVER) which evaluated the efficacy and safety of NOACs in the acute phase and secondary prevention of VTE. Although, from a conceptual point of view, NOACs could be an attractive alternative for the treatment of VTE in cancer patients, the available data do not support this option. In addition, due to the elimination of the NOACs by the liver and renal pathway as well as because of their pharmacological interactions with drugs which are frequently used in cancer patients, an eventual use of these drugs in cancer patients should be extremely cautious and be restricted only to patients presenting with contraindications for low molecular weight heparins, fondaparinux, or VKAs. The analysis of the available data presented in this review reinforces the request for the design of new Phase III clinical trials for the assessment of the efficacy and safety of NOACs in specific populations of patients with cancer

Combined Vaccination Approaches for COVID-19. Will These Improve the Efficacy Spectrum?

International audienc

A review of the venous thrombotic issues associated with multiple myeloma

Introduction: Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) have an increased risk of venous thromboembolic (VTE) complications. The first reports of high VTE rates date back to 1999 but became more apparent with the introduction of novel agents in the treatment of MM and mostly with immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs; thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide). Areas covered: Currently thromboprophylaxis is recommended for patients who receive IMiDs-based regimens and the type of thrombophrophylaxis is based on patient-, disease- and treatment-related risk factors. Making the distinction between the intrinsic risk of thrombosis in MM and the effect of therapy is crucial. The use of aspirin, low molecular weight heparins and warfarin are the recommended drugs but despite their appropriate use the rates of VTE are not completely eliminated. Expert commentary: Research into biomarkers of increased coagulability and their incorporation in risk assessment models could identify patients most likely to benefit from thromboprophylaxis but such models are not widely used in myeloma. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Bacterial coinfection in critically ill COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia

International audienceSevere 2019 novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) with pneumonia is associated with high rates of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Bacterial coinfection has been reported to be rare. We aimed at describing the rate of bacterial coinfection in critically ill adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. All the patients with laboratory-confirmed severe COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to the ICU of Tenon University-teaching hospital, from February 22 to May 7th, 2020 were included. Respiratory tract specimens were obtained within the first 48 h of ICU admission. During the study period, 101 patients were referred to the ICU for COVID-19 with severe pneumonia. Most patients (n = 83; 82.2%) were intubated and mechanically ventilated on ICU admission. Overall, 20 (19.8%) respiratory tract specimens obtained within the first 48 h. Staphylococcus aureus was the main pathogen identified, accounting for almost half of the early-onset bacterial etiologies. We found a high prevalence of early-onset bacterial coinfection during severe COVID-19 pneumonia, with a high proportion of S. aureus. Our data support the current WHO guidelines for the management of severe COVID-19 patients, in whom antibiotic therapy directed to respiratory pathogens is recommended. Keywords Coronavirus disease 2019 • Bacterial coinfection • Staphylococcus aureus • Intensive care unit • Pneumonia Abbreviations COVID 19 Coronavirus infectious disease ICU Intensive care unit SAPSII Simplified acute physiology score SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessmen

Towards a standardization of thrombin generation assessment: The influence of tissue factor, platelets and phospholipids concentration on the normal values of Thrombogram-Thrombinoscope assay

Abstract Background Thrombin generation assay was developed several years ago to mimic physiological coagulation mechanisms but it had important limitations. Thrombogram-Thrombinoscope assay using a fluorogenic substrate, allows obtaining thrombin generation curves in non-defibrinated platelet rich plasma (PRP) in a fully automated manner. Methods We standardised the methodology of Thrombogram-Thrombinoscope and we evaluated the precision of thrombin generation parameters (lag-time, maximum concentration of thrombin [Cmax], time required to reach Cmax [Tmax] and endogenous thrombin potential ETP) using different concentrations of recombinant human tissue factor, platelets or phospholipids. Normal values of thrombin generation assay were established in optimal experimental conditions. Results In the presence of low TF concentrations (final dilution of thromboplastin in plasma: 1/1000–1/2000) the Thrombogram assay showed intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation lower than 9%. Thrombin generation parameters showed an important inter-individual variability and the coefficients of variation ranged from 18% to 50%. In PRP the lag-time, Cmax and Tmax but not the ETP, were influenced by TF concentration. Thrombin generation parameters were not influenced by variations of platelet concentration from 50 × 109/l to 400 × 109/l. The addition of synthetic procoagulant phospholipids in PPP strongly influenced all the parameters of thrombogram. For all the parameters of thrombogram a threshold effect was observed in the presence of phspholipid concentrations equal or higher to 4 μM. In frozen-thawed PRP the lag-time and the Tmax were significantly reduced and the Cmax was increased compared to the fresh PRP, but the ETP, the intra assay and the inter-assay coefficients of variation were similar in both test-systems. Conclusion Thrombogram-Thrombinoscope assay performed in fresh or in frozen-thawed PRP has an acceptable precision, with low inter-assay and intra-assay coefficient of variations. The concentration of TF is determinant for the normal values of the studied parameters of thrombin generation. When the assay is performed in PPP, thrombin generation parameters are influenced by the concentration of procoagulant synthetic phospholipids. The optimal experimental conditions were obtained in the presence of 1/1000 final dilution of thromboplastin, a platelet count higher than 50 × 109/l and a synthetic phospholipid concentration higher than 4 μM.</p