King, Allison A.

Abstract To address acute vaso-occlusive episodes (VOEs), the leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits among individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), we conducted the clinical study, ALIGN (An Individualized Pain Plan with Patient and Provider Access for Emergency Department care of SCD), across 8 sites. We hypothesized an improvement of 0.5 standard deviations in perceived quality of ED pain treatment of a VOE after implementing individualized pain plans (IPPs) accessible to both patients and providers. Patients with SCD were aged 18 to 45 years, owned a cell phone, and had an ED VOE visit within 90 days prior. Patients completed the perceived quality of care surveys at baseline and within 96 hours after an ED VOE visit. Providers completed surveys regarding comfort managing VOEs at baseline and after managing an enrolled patient. Most of the 153 patients were African American (95.4%), female (64.7%), and had Hb SS/Sβ0 genotype (71.9%). The perceived quality of ED pain treatment was high at both baseline and after implementation of IPPs; our primary outcome hypothesis was not met, because no statistically significant change in the patient-perceived quality of ED treatment occurred. A total of 135 providers completed baseline and follow-up surveys. On a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being extremely comfortable managing VOEs, 60.5% reported a score ≥6 after IPP implementation vs 57.8% at baseline. Almost all (97.6%) ordered the recommended medication, and 94.7% intended to use IPPs. In this implementation protocol, all sites successfully implemented IPPs. Patients and ED providers both endorsed the use of IPPs. This trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov as # NCT04584528.

Abstract Background: Central nervous system (CNS) complications are among the most common, devastating sequelae of sickle cell disease (SCD) occurring throughout the lifespan. Objective: These evidence-based guidelines of the American Society of Hematology are intended to support the SCD community in decisions about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the most common neurological morbidities in SCD. Methods: The Mayo Evidence-Based Practice Research Program supported the guideline development process, including updating or performing systematic evidence reviews. The panel used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, including GRADE evidence-to-decision frameworks, to assess evidence and make recommendations. Results: The panel placed a higher value on maintaining cognitive function than on being alive with significantly less than baseline cognitive function. The panel developed 19 recommendations with evidence-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat CNS complications of SCD in low-middle– and high-income settings. Conclusions: Three of 19 recommendations immediately impact clinical care. These recommendations include: use of transcranial Doppler ultrasound screening and hydroxyurea for primary stroke prevention in children with hemoglobin SS (HbSS) and hemoglobin Sβ0 (HbSβ0) thalassemia living in low-middle–income settings; surveillance for developmental delay, cognitive impairments, and neurodevelopmental disorders in children; and use of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain without sedation to detect silent cerebral infarcts at least once in early-school-age children and once in adults with HbSS or HbSβ0 thalassemia. Individuals with SCD, their family members, and clinicians should become aware of and implement these recommendations to reduce the burden of CNS complications in children and adults with SCD.

Abstract Background: Myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) provides a cure for children with hemoglobinopathies, but transplant related early and late morbidity remains a challenge. Toxicities associated with myeloablative chemotherapy include early complications such as mucositis, hemorrhagic cystitis, seizures, and hepatic injury. Late effects such as infertility and compromised linear growth impair long-term quality of life, often decreasing enthusiasm for the procedure. Reduced intensity preparative regimens are especially attractive in children with non-malignant disorders to mitigate these toxicities but have been associated with increased risk of graft rejection. The primary objective of this study was to determine the toxicity and efficacy of a non-myeloablative preparative regimen using alemtuzumab, fludarabine, and melphalan followed by HCT from HLA matched related donors (MRD) in children with hemoglobinopathies. Methods: Following institutional review board approval, and parent and/or patient consent, participants were enrolled at 18 centers. Children < 21 years of age with severe sickle cell disease (SCD) manifestations, or transfusion dependent (> 8 red blood cell transfusions per year) thalassemia with a MRD and a performance status > 40 were eligible for inclusion. The preparative regimen included alemtuzumab (total dose 48 mg) IV (between days –22 and –19), fludarabine (30 mg/m2/day) (days –8 to –4) and melphalan (140 mg/m2) on day -3. Graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis included a calcineurin inhibitor (tapered after day 100, and methotrexate (7.5 mg/m2 on days 1, 3 and 6) or mycophenolate mofetil. Five patients also received methylprednisone (1 mg/kg/day) between days 1 and 28; this practice was discontinued in 2007. Results: A total of 52 children (43 with SCD and 9 with thalassemia), median age 11 years (range, 10m - 20y) underwent HCT between March 2003 and July 2014. Of these, 46 received bone marrow, 5 received marrow and cord blood (CB), and 1 received CB alone. Median follow up was 35.5 months (range, 3 – 136). Forty-nine children were alive at last follow up (Figure 1); 48 were symptom-free; one CB recipient had disease recurrence following graft rejection and successfully underwent a 2nd HCT. No hepatic veno-occlusive disease was noted. Three deaths 6, 11 and 21 months post HCT were from GVHD related causes [bronchiolitis obliterans (n=1); infection with GVHD (n=2)]. The cumulative incidence of graft failure and transplant related mortality was 1.9% and 5.7% respectively. The mean time to engraftment of neutrophils (ANC >500/cu mm) and platelets (>50,000/cu mm) was 13.0 (range 5-21) and 25.9 (range 8-120) days respectively. Three patients had neurologic toxicity (seizures/PRES) post HCT. At the time of last follow up, 35 patients (67%) were complete donor chimera (>90% donor) and 16 (31%) were mixed chimera (28-89% donor). Acute GVHD (grade 1-3) was noted in 30.8%. Four had grade I, 6 had grade II, and 6 had grade III GVHD. No patient developed grade IV aGVHD. Chronic GVHD was noted in 13%. Of 43 patients that were alive without disease and >6 months post HSCT, 38 had successfully discontinued all immune suppression and maintained donor chimerism post withdrawal. Immune reconstitution was robust by the end of the first year post transplant; infectious complications (23 of 30 CMV+ recipients had reactivation) were noted primarily in the first 3 months post HSCT. Conclusions: Children with hemoglobinopathies undergoing MRD HCT tolerated this non-myeloablative preparative regimen well, with minimal early toxicities. The event-free survival rate was comparable to those achieved with myeloablative regimens. Withdrawing immunosuppression was not associated with graft loss or recurrent GVHD. GVHD complications resulted in a low mortality rate. Alternative GVHD prophylaxis may further improve event-free survival. No gonadal toxicity (determined by hormone levels) has been identified to date in 15 HCT recipients of pubertal age (>13 years). Follow up however is early and in progress to determine long-term toxicities. These results support consideration of reduced intensity conditioning regimens for HCT in children with hemoglobinopathies as an alternative to standard myeloablative regimens. Figure 1: Overall/Event-free survival following non-myeloablative conditioning andMRD transplants for hemoglobinopathy Figure 1:. Overall/Event-free survival following non-myeloablative conditioning andMRD transplants for hemoglobinopathy Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Participation refers to a state of health in which a person is able to fully engage in roles and life situations. Adults living with and beyond cancer often report persistent participation restrictions that affect their productivity and quality of life. The American Occupational Therapy Foundation convened a group of scientists from seven different disciplines in a Planning Grant Collective (PGC) to stimulate research to identify scalable ways to preserve and optimize participation among cancer survivors. Participants identified challenges, prioritized solutions, and generated novel research questions that move beyond symptom and impairment mitigation as outcomes to identify interventions that improve participation in roles and life situations. This article summarizes the PGC discussion and recommendations regarding three challenges: (a) the dynamic and multi-faceted nature of participation, (b) a need to integrate the concept of participation within the culture of oncology, and (c) identification of priority areas in which new lines of research regarding participation would be most impactful.