Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Survival in patients with acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia at the "Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima". Hospital. A ten years experience

Background: acute non-lymphoblastic leukemias account for 80% of leukemias in adults. Its incidence increases with age up to 20 per 100 000 in over 70 years old patients. Objective: To characterize the survival of patients with acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia at the "Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima " Hospital of Cienfuegos. Methods: A case series which included all patients who underwent diagnosis of acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia between 1999 and 2010 at the Hospital of Cienfuegos. Data were obtained from the record book of hematological malignancies from the Oncohematology Department. Such variables like age, sex, morphological variant of the leukemia, incidence per year and overall survival were analyzed according to sex, morphological variant, origin, age and bone marrow transplant. Results: The average age of the studied series was 55 years old . Males were predominant with 55 cases. The most common morphological variant was the myelomonocytic. Overall survival of the series was 20% with a median follow-up of 60 months. Overall survival was slightly higher in females (25% vs 18%). The patients who underwent some form of transplant had a better survival (75% vs 13%). Conclusions: The survival of patients with acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia at the "Dr. Aldereguía Gustavo Lima" Hospital is very limited

Recombinant human erythropoietin, and myocardial and cerebral acute ischemia: implications for clinical use.

Recombinant human erythropoietin has been used for more than two decades in clinical practice with promising results in the treatment of anemia associated with chronic renal insufficiency and in patients with cancer. Recent evidence has uncovered new nonhematopoietic functions of this protein and have brought new hope in the treatment of diseases with ischemic component. In the present review is rife with detail about these new features in the light of new discoveries and explores the therapeutic opportunities offered by these new scientific evidence

Teoría celular de la coagulación: de las cascadas a las membranas celulares

El modelo clásico de la coagulación, propuesto hace más de 40 años, separa las fases celular y humoral de la coagulación. Considera que el proceso de hemostasia se consigue a través de la activación secuencial de enzimas efectoras en dos vías independientes: la extrínseca y la intrínseca. Una nueva teoría, conocida como modelo celular de la coagulación, reemplaza la tradicional hipótesis de las cascadas y enfatiza en las células como elementos esenciales capaces de dirigir el proceso hemostático, mediante la interacción de superficies celulares, factor tisular y factor VII, en tres fases simultáneas: iniciación, amplificación y propagación. En la presente revisión bibliográfica se abunda con detalle sobre la nueva teoría celular de la coagulación, para lo cual se consultaron 33 artículos, con el objetivo de describir los aspectos más importantes de la nueva teoría y sus ventajas respecto a la vieja

Teoría celular de la coagulación: de las cascadas a las membranas celulares

El modelo clásico de la coagulación, propuesto hace más de 40 años, separa las fases celular y humoral de la coagulación. Considera que el proceso de hemostasia se consigue a través de la activación secuencial de enzimas efectoras en dos vías independientes: la extrínseca y la intrínseca. Una nueva teoría, conocida como modelo celular de la coagulación, reemplaza la tradicional hipótesis de las cascadas y enfatiza en las células como elementos esenciales capaces de dirigir el proceso hemostático, mediante la interacción de superficies celulares, factor tisular y factor VII, en tres fases simultáneas: iniciación, amplificación y propagación. En la presente revisión bibliográfica se abunda con detalle sobre la nueva teoría celular de la coagulación, para lo cual se consultaron 33 artículos, con el objetivo de describir los aspectos más importantes de la nueva teoría y sus ventajas respecto a la vieja

3 years survival of patients with multiple myeloma.

Background: The survival of patients with multiple myeloma varies. Frequently we don’t identify the patients that could be cured with advanced therapies, nor even recognize those, in which we expect a long survival with the classic treatment measures. That’s why it is necessary the study of prognosis factors to achieve an optimum stratification and to individualize the pattern to follow. Objectives: To determine the 3 years survival of the patients with multiple mieloma and the factors that influence it. Methods: A descriptive study of a series of cases of 50 patients with multiple mieloma. The socio-demographic characteristics were studied, as well as the clinic-humoral state, type of treatment and response to it, the over life curves were calculated by the estimates of Kaplan-Meier. A uni-varied analysis was made for which the patients were stratified in groups, that were compared through the long-rank method. A trust interval of 95% was accepted. Results:The total 3 years survival was of 37%. The 58% of the cases used the combination of Melfalan with Prednisona as initial therapeutic scheme. The 47,1% of the treated patients had a positive response to the chemotherapy. There were no alarming differences in response percentage and in survival among those who received Melfalan-prednisona and those who were treated with schemes that combined both drugs. The functional capacity reduction, the association to renal insufficiency, and not having response to treatment were the factors associated to an early mortality. Conclusions: The identification by means of this study of the factors related with the illness, would allow us to stratify the sick persons and to individualize its cares to improve the survival.</strong