Citations

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder is a rare and serious complication of organ and stem cell transplant secondary to immunosuppressive therapies, most commonly of monomorphic B-cell subtype. Here we describe the first reported case of a pediatric heart transplant patient who developed both monomorphic B-cell and nondestructive PTLD with plasmacytic hyperplasia followed by an unrelated case of monomorphic T-cell and nondestructive PTLD with plasmacytic hyperplasia, which later relapsed. We detail the patient’s risk factors for development of PTLD and her successful treatment regimens. This case highlights the potential relationship between Epstein-Barr virus and/or cytomegalovirus and PTLD.

Many children on the autism spectrum engage in challenging behaviors, like aggression, due to difficulties communicating and regulating their stress. Identifying effective intervention strategies is often subjective and time-consuming. Utilizing unobservable internal physiological data to predict strategy effectiveness may help simplify this process for teachers and parents. This study examined whether heart rate data can predict strategy effectiveness. Teachers and coders from the research team recorded behavioral and heart rate data over three months for each participating student on the autism spectrum using the KeepCalm app, a platform that provides in-the-moment strategy suggestions based on heart rate and past behavioral data, across 226 instances of strategy interventions. A binary logistic regression was performed to assess whether heart rate reduction, time to return to heart rate baseline, and documented skills and challenging behaviors predicted strategy effectiveness. Results suggested that heart rate reduction may be a significant predictor, and supported the existing practice of using behavioral patterns as proxies for strategy effectiveness. Additional analyses indicate proactive strategies are more effective and are associated with greater reduction in heart rate, relative to reactive strategies. Further exploration of how internal physiological data can complement observable behaviors in assessing intervention strategy effectiveness is warranted given the novelty of our findings.

Abstract Background. Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in young women worldwide, and late recurrence of hormone receptor-positive disease plays a substantial role. Adjuvant endocrine therapy with 5 years of ovarian function suppression (OFS) and an aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen is recommended for many young patients with high risk hormone receptor-positive BC. Data are limited regarding extended endocrine therapy among premenopausal BC survivors, and non-existent to inform treatment decisions regarding extending OFS beyond 5 years. We sought to evaluate young BC survivors’ perceptions and preferences regarding extending OFS beyond 5 years, and consideration of a potential future study to assess the role of extended OFS. Methods. From January-April 2023, email invites were sent to the Young Survival Coalition (YSC) listserv (N=14,291) specifically asking members with a history of invasive BC (≤45 years at diagnosis; stage I-III without metastatic recurrence) receiving OFS injections for adjuvant endocrine treatment to complete a one-time anonymous online survey. The survey was designed to capture information regarding current endocrine therapy use, patient-provider communication regarding extended endocrine therapy including OFS, OFS-related concerns (rating 0-5 [low: 0-1, moderate: 2-3, severe: 4-5]), and interest in a potential future clinical trial utilizing OFS beyond 5 years. Descriptive statistics were utilized to summarize responses, and two-sided Fishers exact tests and chi-square analyses were used for comparisons. Results. A total of 1,030 YSC members completed the survey, and 615 were analyzed due to eligibility and completeness of data. The majority were from the United States (n=579, 94.1%) or Canada (n=8, 1.3%), were non-Hispanic white (n=452, 73.5%), non-Hispanic Black (n=46, 7.5%), or Hispanic (n=43, 7.0%), and had been diagnosed with stage II BC (n=316, 51.4%). The average age at survey was 38.1 years (SD=5.15, range=22-54) and at initial BC diagnosis was 34.6 years (SD=4.96, range=20-49). Most (n=510, 83.0%) were within their first 5 years of OFS treatment while 14.5% (n=89) had already been receiving OFS for more than 5 years. Many respondents (n=344, 55.9%) reported discussing OFS use beyond 5 years with their provider, of whom 39.8% (n=245) reported their provider recommending they continue OFS for more than 5 years. Despite reporting moderate and severe concerns regarding OFS side effects (n=476, 77.4%), inconvenience of injection visits (n=272, 44.2%), and high cost of medication (n=223, 36.3%), most respondents (n=396, 64.4%) would consider continuing OFS beyond 5 years if it would reduce risk of BC recurrence. For nearly half of respondents (n=289, 47.0%) a risk reduction of at least 5% would be required for extended OFS to be worthwhile compared to the remaining 46.3% (n=285) who indicated interest for < 5% risk reduction. When asked hypothetically if they would take part in a clinical trial to determine efficacy of OFS use beyond 5 years, the majority were interested (n=357, 58.0%). Respondents who were interested were less likely to be concerned about the high cost of medication (p=0.003) however they were also less likely to take OFS beyond 5 years if it only led to 1-2% BC risk reduction (p=0.006) compared to those who were not interested. There were no other proportional differences on any other outcome. Conclusion. Many BC survivors and providers are already considering incorporation of OFS beyond 5 years into adjuvant endocrine therapy despite harboring concerns and lack of data. Efforts to determine the efficacy and benefits of extended OFS are necessary given the risk of late recurrence in this population as well as the potential for significant short- and long-term toxicities. The results from this survey study suggest that future clinical trials evaluating potential benefits and risks of long-term OFS use among young BC survivors are needed and likely feasible. Citation Format: Kate Dibble, Tal Sella, Kathryn Ruddy, Craig Snow, Amanda Nixon, Patricia Spears, Karla Ballman, Lisa Carey, Ann Partridge. Ovarian function suppression (OFS) use beyond five years?: Young breast cancer patient preferences [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-01-11.

ABSTRACT Background The COVID-19 pandemic displaced newly matched emergency medicine “pre-interns” from in-person educational experiences at the end of medical school. This called for novel remote teaching modalities. Objective This study assesses effectiveness of a multisite Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) sub-competency-based curricular implementation on Slack during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Methods Emergency medicine residency programs were recruited via national organization listservs. Programs designated instructors to manage communications and teaching for the senior medical students who had matched to their programs (pre-interns) in spring/summer 2020. Pre- and post-surveys of trainees and instructors assessed perceived preparedness for residency, perceived effectiveness of common virtual educational modalities, and concern for the pandemic's effects on medical education utilizing a Likert scale of 1 (very unconcerned) to 5 (very concerned). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the t test. Results Of 276 possible residency programs, 28 enrolled. Of 324 possible pre-interns, 297 (91.7%) completed pre-surveys in April/May and 249 (76.9%) completed post-surveys in June/July. The median weeks since performing a physical examination was 8 (IQR 7–12), since attending in-person didactics was 10 (IQR 8–15) and of rotation displacement was 4 (IQR 2–6). Perceived preparedness increased both overall and for 14 of 21 ACGME Milestone topics taught. Instructors reported higher mean concern (4.32, 95% CI 4.23–4.41) than pre-interns (2.88, 95% CI 2.74–3.02) regarding the pandemic's negative effects on medical education. Conclusions Pre-interns reported improvements in residency preparedness after participating in this ACGME sub-competency-based curriculum on Slack.

Background Despite a continued focus on improved cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality, survival remains low from in-hospital cardiac arrest. Advanced Resuscitation Training has been shown to improve survival to hospital discharge and survival with good neurological outcome following in-hospital cardiac arrest at its home institution. We sought to determine if Advanced Resuscitation Training implementation would improve patient outcomes and cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality at our institution. Methods This was a prospective, before–after study of adult in-hospital cardiac arrest victims who had cardiopulmonary resuscitation performed. During phase 1, standard institution cardiopulmonary resuscitation training was provided. During phase 2, providers received the same quantity of training, but with emphasis on Advanced Resuscitation Training principles. Primary outcomes were return of spontaneous circulation, survival to hospital discharge, and neurologically favorable survival. Secondary outcomes were cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality parameters. Results A total of 156 adult in-hospital cardiac arrests occurred during the study period. Rates of return of spontaneous circulation improved from 58.1 to 86.3% with an adjusted odds ratios of 5.31 (95% CI: 2.23–14.35, P < 0.001). Survival to discharge increased from 26.7 to 41.2%, adjusted odds ratios 2.17 (95% CI: 1.02–4.67, P < 0.05). Survival with a good neurological outcome increased from 24.8 to 35.3%, but was not statistically significant. Target chest compression rate increased from 30.4% of patients in P1 to 65.6% in P2, adjusted odds ratios 4.27 (95% CI: 1.72–11.12, P = 0.002), and target depth increased from 23.2% in P1 to 46.9% in P2, adjusted odds ratios 2.92 (95% CI: 1.16–7.54, P = 0.024). Conclusions After Advanced Resuscitation Training implementation, there were significant improvements in cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality and rates of return of spontaneous circulation and survival to discharge.