Citations

The association of infantile spasms and periventricular leukomalacia and/or intraventricular hemorrhage is well documented. Data regarding early treatment-based and long-term outcomes are limited. A retrospective chart review identified children with infantile spasms born prematurely (<37 weeks) with diagnoses of periventricular leukomalacia and/or intraventricular hemorrhage. Thirteen children were included. Median gestational age was 30 weeks and age of onset of infantile spasms was 8 months. Nine children had intraventricular hemorrhage, 10 had periventricular leukomalacia, and 6 children had both. Twelve of 13 children had resolution of spasms. In responders, the successful medication was adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in 7, topiramate in 3, and vigabatrin in 2. Follow-up after a median of 7.1 years found that all patients had developmental delay but only 1 had refractory epilepsy. Standard therapies (ACTH and vigabatrin) appeared to be more effective than other treatments. Developmental delay is common in children with periventricular leukomalacia / intraventricular hemorrhage and infantile spasms, but refractory epilepsy might be less frequent.

AbstractPatients with relapsed aggressive non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are often treated with platinum‐based chemoimmunotherapy regimens in preparation for autologous stem cell transplant. We sought to reduce toxicity and maintain efficacy by using oxaliplatin with rituximab, cytarabine and dexamethasone (ROAD) in a phase II clinical trial in patients who had relapsed after one prior regimen. ROAD was delivered q21 days and consisted of rituximab 375 mg/m2 IV weekly x 4 doses (cycle 1 only); dexamethasone 40 mg PO/IV d2 – 5; oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 IV day 2; cytarabine 2000 mg/m2 IV × two doses on days 2 to 3; and pegfilgrastim 6 mg SC on day 4. Forty‐five eligible patients were accrued between 2006 and 2008. Patient characteristics were a median age of 69 years; 96% had received prior rituximab; 53% were within one year of diagnosis. The median number of cycles received was 2 (range, 1‐6). Forty‐four % received ROAD as an outpatient. The overall response rate was 71% with 27% (12/45) CR and 44% (20/45) PR. Forty‐four % (20/45) of all patients and 69% (18/26) of patients whom responded after 2 cycles proceeded to transplant. Median overall survival was 26 mos (95% CI: 7.3 mos—not reached) and median progression‐free survival was 11 mos (95% CI: 6—104 mos). There was no grade 3/4 nephrotoxicity; the rate of grade 3/4 neuropathy was 4%. Forty‐two percent of all patients and 69% of patients transplanted remain alive at 5 years. ROAD represents an acceptable salvage therapeutic option for patients with relapsed aggressive NHL.

Objectives To examine the association between long‐term bisphosphonate use and fracture in older women at high risk of fracture. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Women's Health Initiative. Participants Older women who reported at least 2 years of bisphosphonate use in 2008–09 (N = 5,120). Measurements Exposure data were from a current medications inventory. Outcomes (hip, clinical vertebral, wrist or forearm, any clinical fracture) were ascertained annually. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, the association between duration of bisphosphonate use (3–5, 6–9, 10–13 years) and fracture was estimated, using 2 years as the referent group. Results On average participants were 80 years old and were followed for 3.7 ± 1.2 years. There were 127 hip, 159 wrist or forearm, 235 clinical vertebral, and 1,313 clinical fractures. In multivariate‐adjusted analysis, 10 to 13 years of bisphosphonate use was associated with higher risk of any clinical fracture than 2 years of use (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07–1.57). This association persisted in analyses limited to women with a prior fracture (HR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.01–1.67) and women with no history of cancer (HR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.10–1.68). The association of 10 to 13 years of use, compared with 2 years of use, was not statistically significant for hip (HR = 1.66, 95% CI = 0.81–3.40), clinical vertebral (HR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.99–2.76), or wrist fracture (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.67–2.00). Conclusion In older women at high risk of fracture, 10 to 13 years of bisphosphonate use was associated with higher risk of any clinical fracture than 2 years of use. These results add to concerns about the benefit of very long‐term bisphosphonate use.

AbstractIntroductionCardiac pacing from the right ventricular apex is associated with detrimental long‐term effects and nonapical pacing locations may be associated with improved outcomes. There is little data regarding complications with nonapical lead positions. The aim of this study was to assess long‐term outcomes and lead‐related complications associated with differing ventricular lead tip position.Methods and resultsAll adult patients who underwent dual‐chamber pacemaker implantation from 2004 to 2014 were included if they had postprocedure chest radiographs amenable to lead position determination. Long‐term outcomes and lead‐related complication rates were recorded. These were compared at 5 years between: (1) apical and septal leads, (2) apical and nonseptal nonapical (NSNA), and (3) apical and septal with >40% ventricular pacing. We retrospectively evaluated 3,450 patients, which included 238 with a septal position and 733 with NSNA lead positions. Septal lead position was associated with a lower mortality compared to apical leads (24% vs. 31%, P = 0.02). In patients with greater than 40% pacing, septal leads were associated with significantly higher rates of incident atrial fibrillation compared to apical leads (49% vs. 34%, P = 0.04). NSNA positions were associated with a significantly higher rate of lead dislodgement (4% vs. 2%, P = 0.005) and need for revision (8% vs. 5%, P = 0.005).ConclusionsSeptal pacemaker lead position is associated with a lower mortality compared to apically placed leads, but a higher incidence of atrial fibrillation with higher percentage ventricular pacing. NSNA lead locations are associated with more complications and should be avoided.

OBJECTIVEThe management of vestibular schwannoma (VS) remains controversial. One commonly cited advantage of microsurgery over other treatment modalities is that tumor removal provides the greatest chance of long-term cure. However, there are very few publications with long-term follow-up to support this assertion. The purpose of the current study is to report the very long-term risk of recurrence among a large historical cohort of patients who underwent microsurgical resection.METHODSThe authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who had undergone primary microsurgical resection of unilateral VS via a retrosigmoid approach performed by a single neurosurgeon-neurotologist team between January 1980 and December 1999. Complete tumor removal was designated gross-total resection (GTR), and anything less than complete removal was designated subtotal resection (STR). The primary end point was radiological recurrence-free survival. Time-to-event analyses were performed to identify factors associated with recurrence.RESULTSFour hundred fourteen patients met the study inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Overall, 67 patients experienced recurrence at a median of 6.9 years following resection (IQR 3.9–12.1, range 1.2–22.5 years). Estimated recurrence-free survival rates at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years following resection were 93% (95% CI 91–96, 248 patients still at risk), 78% (72–85, 88), 68% (60–77, 47), and 51% (41–64, 22), respectively. The strongest predictor of recurrence was extent of resection, with patients who underwent STR having a nearly 11-fold greater risk of recurrence than the patients treated with GTR (HR 10.55, p < 0.001). Among the 18 patients treated with STR, 15 experienced recurrence at a median of 2.7 years following resection (IQR 1.9–8.9, range 1.2–18.7). Estimated recurrence-free survival rates at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years following GTR were 96% (95% CI 93–98, 241 patients still at risk), 82% (77–89, 86), 73% (65–81, 46), and 56% (45–70, 22), respectively. Estimated recurrence-free survival rates at 5, 10, and 15 years following STR were 47% (95% CI 28–78, 7 patients still at risk), 17% (5–55, 2), and 8% (1–52, 1), respectively.CONCLUSIONSLong-term surveillance is required following microsurgical resection of VS even after GTR. Subtotal resection alone should not be considered a definitive long-term cure. These data emphasize the importance of long-term follow-up when reporting tumor control outcomes for VS.