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Travel-related strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 evolved rapidly in response to changes in the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and newly available tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Modeling is an important methodology to investigate the range of outcomes that could occur from different disease containment strategies. We examined 43 articles published from December 2019 through September 2022 that used modeling to evaluate travel-related COVID-19 containment strategies. We extracted and synthesized data regarding study objectives, methods, outcomes, populations, settings, strategies, and costs. We used a standardized approach to evaluate each analysis according to 26 criteria for modeling quality and rigor. The most frequent approaches included compartmental modeling to examine quarantine, isolation, or testing. Early in the pandemic, the goal was to prevent travel-related COVID-19 cases with a focus on individual-level outcomes and assessing strategies such as travel restrictions, quarantine without testing, social distancing, and on-arrival PCR testing. After the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines, modeling studies projected population-level outcomes and investigated these tools to limit COVID-19 spread. Very few published studies included rapid antigen screening strategies, costs, explicit model calibration, or critical evaluation of the modeling approaches. Future modeling analyses should leverage open-source data, improve the transparency of modeling methods, incorporate newly available prevention, diagnostics, and treatments, and include costs and cost-effectiveness so that modeling analyses can be informative to address future SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and other emerging infectious diseases (e.g., mpox and Ebola) for travel-related health policies.

The study objective was to develop and validate a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to guide clinicians through the diagnostic evaluation of hospitalized individuals with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in low-prevalence settings. The \"TBorNotTB\" CDSS was developed using a modified Delphi method. The CDSS assigns points based on epidemiologic risk factors, TB history, symptoms, chest imaging, and sputum/bronchoscopy results. Below a set point threshold, airborne isolation precautions are automatically discontinued; otherwise, additional evaluation, including infection control review, is recommended. The model was validated through retrospective application of the CDSS to all individuals hospitalized in the Mass General Brigham system from July 2016 to December 2022 with culture-confirmed pulmonary TB (cases) and equal numbers of age and date of testing-matched controls with three negative respiratory mycobacterial cultures. 104 individuals with TB (cases) and 104 controls were identified. Prior residence in a highly endemic country, positive interferon release assay, weight loss, absence of symptom resolution with treatment for alternative diagnoses, and findings concerning for TB on chest imaging were significant predictors of TB (all < 0.05). CDSS contents and scoring were refined based on the case-control analysis. The final CDSS demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 27% specificity for TB with an AUC of 0.87. The TBorNotTB CDSS demonstrated modest specificity and high sensitivity to detect TB even when AFB smears were negative. This CDSS, embedded into the electronic medical record system, could help reduce risks of nosocomial TB transmission, patient-time in airborne isolation, and person-time spent reviewing individuals with suspected TB.

For persons with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis, the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend collecting 3 respiratory specimens 8 to 24 hours apart for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear and culture, in addition to 1 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). However, data supporting this approach are limited. Our objective was to estimate the performance of 1, 2, or 3 AFB smears with or without NAATs to detect pulmonary tuberculosis in a low-prevalence setting. We conducted a retrospective study of hospitalized persons at 8 Massachusetts acute care facilities who underwent mycobacterial culture on 1 or more respiratory specimens between July 2016 and December 2022. We evaluated percentage positivity and yield on serial AFB smears and NAATs among people with growth of on mycobacterial cultures. Among 104 participants with culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis, the first AFB smear was positive in 41 cases (39%). A second AFB smear was positive in 11 (22%) of the 49 cases in which it was performed. No third AFB smears were positive following 2 initial negative smears. Of 52 smear-negative cases, 36 had a NAAT performed, leading to 23 additional diagnoses. Overall sensitivity to detect tuberculosis prior to culture positivity was higher in any strategy involving 1 or 2 NAATs (74%-79%), even without AFB smears, as compared with 3 smears alone (60%). Tuberculosis diagnostic testing with 2 AFB smears offered the same yield as 3 AFB smears while potentially reducing laboratory burden and duration of airborne infection isolation. Use of 1 or 2 NAATs increased sensitivity to detect culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis when added to AFB smear-based diagnostic testing alone.

Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is a rare blood disorder causing hypocellular bone marrow due to immune damage to hematopoietic stem cells, leading to low blood cell counts. This study investigates the demographics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes of AA in Turkiye. In this non-interventional, retrospective descriptive study, data of 274 patients (Female/Male: 4/5) diagnosed with AA between September 1, 2011, and September 1, 2021, were collected from 16 centers. Severe and very severe AA was diagnosed in 72% and 27.7% of patients, respectively. The mean time from diagnosis to first treatment was 119 ± 287 days, while time to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was 212 ± 321 days, and to Anti-Thymocyte Globulin (ATG) was 87 ± 242.5 days. The mean time to response after first-line and second-line treatment was 172.9 ± 264.6 days and 191.9 ± 211.9 days, respectively. The mean overall survival of patients with AA was 3.56 ± 3.12 years, with a 5-year overall survival rate of 72.6%. HSCT and other initial treatments led to full or partial remission for most patients, improving survival rates for over half of them. The study observed comparable patterns to previous studies, providing vital insights into Turkiye’s acquired AA treatment landscape.

Extramedullary relapse is an uncommon complication of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). The most common site of extramedullary relapse is the central nervous system (CNS), and the majority of CNS relapses occur in patients with high-risk disease in which white blood cell count at presentation is greater than 10×103/μL. The best management of such patients is still controversial. We describe a 47-year-old man with APL who developed two CNS relapses which were diagnosed through the presence of t(15;17)(q22;q21) on PCR of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), despite presenting initially with intermediate-risk disease. We conclude that the intermediate risk group is very heterogeneous and these patients sometimes may behave like high-risk patients. Also, clinicians should take into account symptoms that can be related to CNS relapse in patients with APL and consider lumbar puncture even if radiological imaging does not reveal anything.

Pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of lymphoma, and recent studies have shown that cytokines can be used as prognostic markers. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients with high levels of serum interleukin-6 (s-IL6) and serum vascular endothelial growth factor (s-VEGF) have poor prognosis and shorter survival time. We aimed to determine pre-treatment levels of s-IL6 and s-VEGF and their relation with known prognostic markers, especially International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores, and to examine their effects on overall survival in newly diagnosed, untreated aggressive NHL patients. The study included 51 newly diagnosed NHL patients and 17 healthy controls. Blood samples were obtained to study s-IL6 and s-VEGF cytokine levels. Patients with aggressive NHL diagnosis had higher s-VEGF and s-IL6 levels than the healthy population. If the s-IL6 levels of patients were above the cut-off levels, the overall survival time was shorter. There was no relation between s-VEGF and overall survival time. s-IL6 is an independent prognostic factor that may be included in IPI risk classification. In addition to the s-IL6 level, age, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, beta-2 microglobulin, WHO performance status, and IPI score are independent prognostic factors that are effective, especially for overall survival, in the clinical follow-up of NHL patients.

Recent developments in cancer therapy have resulted in increases in treatment success rates and survival. One of thebasic goals of such therapy is improving patient quality of life. Chemotherapy protocols for solid or hematologicalmalignancies-most of which include multiple agents-negatively impact patient quality of life. Additionally, there havebeen developments in supportive care, which seeks to ameliorate or minimize the negative effects of chemotherapy.Herein we present a review and brief summarization of some of the agents used for supportive care in cancer patientsin light of the latest guidelines.