Articles related to Internal Medicine

At this year’s ASCO annual meeting, CRC management insights were revealed in several abstract presentations covering pembrolizumab, regorafenib, immunotherapies, trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab, and an antibody-drug conjugate targeting HER2.

A study published in Blood Advances finds that higher levels of NETosis in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are not linked to thrombotic events. The study determined that while NETosis may play a role in facilitating thrombosis, it is not a sole causative determinant in MPN-associated thrombophilia.

In ASH Clinical News, Dr. Geoffrey Uy, a professor in the Oncology Division at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses treatment options for a transplant-ineligible patient who has Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). The patient under review is a 61-year-old female diagnosed with Ph+ ALL who has multiple comorbidities and is not a candidate for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Publication: JAMA Internal MedicineDesign: Retrospective cohort study of more than 83,000 propensity-scored matched pairs over a 12-year period.Results: Diabetes progression was significantly greater among diabetes patients using statins vs. those not using statins.

Publication: JAMADesign: Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial performed in six hospices in the Netherlands of 162 patients with a life expectancy of three or more days. Administration of subcutaneous scopolamine butylbromide, 20 mg four times a day (n = 79) or placebo (n=78) in the 157 patients included in the primary analysis.Results: A death rattle occurred in 10 patients (13%) in the scopolamine group compared with 21 patients (27%) in the placebo group.

The exact ways in which COVID-19 is impacting children, particularly those under age 12, is still being examined. Reported at the IDWeek conference, Arkansas health officials presented data demonstrating the severe impact that the fast-moving Delta variant of COVID-19 can have on children. Key findings: From January 2021, the Delta variant led to 42% more hospitalizations, 69% more ICU admissions, and a 300% increase in the use of mechanical ventilation.