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OBJECTIVES: Conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess prevalence and timing of acute kidney injury (AKI) development after acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and its association with mortality. DATA SOURCES: Ovid MEDLINE(R), Ovid Embase, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Ovid PsycINFO database, Scopus, and Web of Science thought April 2023. STUDY SELECTION: Titles and abstracts were screened independently and in duplicate to identify eligible studies. Randomized controlled trials and prospective or retrospective cohort studies reporting the development of AKI following ARDS were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently extracted data using a pre piloted abstraction form. We used Review Manager 5.4 software (Cochrane Library, Oxford, United Kingdom) and Open Meta software (Brown University, Providence, RI) for statistical analyses. DATA SYNTHESIS: Among the 3646 studies identified and screened, 17 studies comprising 9359 ARDS patients met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. AKI developed in 3287 patients (40%) after the diagnosis of ARDS. The incidence of AKI at least 48 hours after ARDS diagnosis was 20% (95% CI, 0.18–0.21%). The pooled risk ratio (RR) for the hospital (or 30-d) mortality among ARDS patients who developed AKI was 1.93 (95% CI, 1.71–2.18). AKI development after ARDS was identified as an independent risk factor for mortality in ARDS patients, with a pooled odds ratio from multivariable analysis of 3.69 (95% CI, 2.24–6.09). Furthermore, two studies comparing mortality between patients with late vs. early AKI initiation after ARDS revealed higher mortality in late AKI patients with RR of 1.46 (95% CI, 1.19–1.8). However, the certainty of evidence for most outcomes was low to very low. CONCLUSIONS: While our findings highlight a significant association between ARDS and subsequent development of AKI, the low to very low certainty of evidence underscores the need for cautious interpretation. This systematic review identified a significant knowledge gap, necessitating further research to establish a more definitive understanding of this relationship and its clinical implications.

Introduction: Romiplostim is a thrombopoietin receptor agonist approved by the US FDA for chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in patients who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, or splenectomy. The recommended dose is 1 mcg/kg/week subcutaneously, escalated weekly by increments of 1 mcg/kg to achieve and maintain a platelet count of 50 x 10 9 /L g ( Kuter et al 2021). It has been postulated that starting at the maximum recommended dose of 10 mcg/kg/week in patients with severe bleeding may swiftly increase platelets and minimize bleeding ( Roumier et al 2021). However, this approach may also increase the risk of major thrombotic events (TE). It is unclear if the more aggressive dosing strategy results in more rapid, robust responses and a tolerable safety profile compared to the FDA approved approach. Methods: This retrospective chart review included adult patients who initiated romiplostim while admitted for ITP at a Mayo Clinic Enterprise site from May 2018 to May 2022. Outcomes included rate of TE at 30 days and 90 days and time to first TE in patients receiving initial romiplostim doses of < 5 mcg/kg (low dose, LD) and > 5 mcg/kg (high dose, HD), median time to platelet response (defined as platelets > 30 x10 9/L and > 50 x10 9/L on 2 separate checks) in LD vs HD, and cost to the institution comparing LD to HD. Outcomes were summarized using descriptive statistics. Statistical analysis was done using BlueSky. Fischer's exact test and chi-squared were performed for categorical data, and Wilcoxon rank sum test were done for continuous variables. Results: Forty-five patients met eligibility criteria: 33 (73%) received initial romiplostim doses < 5 mcg/kg and 12 (27%) received doses > 5 mcg/kg. The majority of patients (43/45 (96%)) presented with platelets < 50 x 10 9/L. The median age was 65 years (68 in LD vs 57 HD). There were 24 (73%) males in the LD group vs five (42%) in the HD group. At baseline, 64% (n = 21) of LD patients and 75% (n = 9) of HD patients presented with bleeding. Major bleeding (defined by 2019 ASH ITP guidelines) was present in 21% (n= 7) vs 17% (n = 2) of patients, LD versus HD, respectively ( Neunert et al 2019). The overall incidence of TE in this study was 24% (n = 11): LD 5 (15%) and HD 6 (50%) (p = 0.044) at 90 days. Median days to TE was 21 days, 12 days in LD group (range 5-21) vs 24.5 days (range 14-58) in HD group (p = 0.067). TE included deep vein thrombosis (DVT, n = 6), DVT with pulmonary embolism (n = 1), portal vein thrombus (n = 1), multiple brain infarcts (n = 1), splenic vein thrombus (n = 1), and left atrial appendage thrombus (n = 1). The median platelet count at the time of TE was 304 x 10 9/L, 415 x 10 9/L (range 58-900) in the LD group vs 323 x 10 8/L (range 33-1427) in the HD group (p = 0.79). Thirty-two (71%) out of 45 patients had a response to romiplostim: 22 in the LD group (71%) vs 10 (83.3%) in the HD group (p = 0.698). Of the patients that responded, the median time to response was 6 days in the LD group vs 11.5 days in the HD group (p = 0.09) The median dose at time of initial response was 2 mcg/kg in the LD group and 6 mcg/kg in the HD group. Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) was used to determine the cost per dose, rounded to the nearest vial size. The average WAC for the initial dose in LD patients was $1806.80 compared to $6061.79 in HD patients. Conclusion:There was a significantly increased incidence of thrombosis in patients admitted with ITP that received initial romiplostim doses > 5 mcg/kg, with no differences in the time to platelet response. Careful consideration of risks versus benefits should be given prior to initiating romiplostim at doses higher than recommended doses.

Introduction Public reporting of outcomes drives healthcare improvement in many fields, including hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), although with possible unintended consequences. The Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) publishes an annual Center-Specific Survival Analysis (CSA), which compares HCT centers' observed 1-year overall survival (OS) with their statistically modeled expected 1-year OS, with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Centers with OS within their 95% CI receive a 0 score, indicating as expected outcomes. Those with OS below / above their 95% CI receive a -1 / +1 score, indicating below / above expected OS, respectively. After a -1 report, centers may change their patient selection criteria, causing unintentional systematic exclusion of patient populations who could benefit from HCT. We analyzed how the CSA report influences patient selection practices among centers receiving a -1 score. Methods Centers receiving a -1 report between 2012 and 2016 that had ‘as expected’ survival in the preceding 2 years were classified as newly below expected OS centers (NBCs). The year of their -1 report was used as the index year. Centers with ‘as expected’ OS in the 3 years before and after each index year were identified as control centers, reflecting expected evolution of patient selection in the HCT field. The patient population variables analyzed are shown in Table 1. The difference in patient population characteristics in the 3 years before vs the 3 years after the index years defined the change in patient selection behavior at the NBCs and the controls. A multivariate model adjusting for baseline patient population characteristics and center size was used to compare the change in patient population from before and after the index year in the NBCs and that of the controls. The difference in differences (ΔinΔ) were calculated as ΔNBC - ΔControl. A significance threshold of p<0.01 was used to account for multiple testing. Results After adjusting for overall trends, center size, and baseline patient population characteristics, no differences in patient selection behavior meeting the pre-specified threshold for statistical significance were identified when comparing the NBCs (n=24 centers) with the controls (n=195 centers). In the 3 years following the index years, 4,150 and 25,013 patients were transplanted at NBCs and controls, respectively. The proportion of patients receiving reduced intensity or non-myeloablative conditioning regimens decreased 4.1% in NBCs and increased 5.0% in controls, for a net difference of -9.1% (95% CI: -16.7% to -1.6%, p=0.02). All other patient characteristic proportions changed in the same direction at NBCs and controls, albeit to varying degrees (Table 1). In some high-risk characteristics, (e.g. HCT-CI > 3), a greater increase was seen at NBCs vs controls (ΔinΔ 2.1% 95% CI: -2.8% to 6.9%, p=0.40). In others, (e.g. age 60+ years), a greater increase was seen at controls vs NBCs (ΔinΔ -2.6% 95% CI: -5.9% to 0.7%, p=0.12). To capture a holistic measure of centers' patient population risk, the predicted 1-year survival was compared in the NBCs vs controls using the logistic regression model generated for each year's CSA. The predicted OS increased by 3.08% and 3.30% in the NBCs and controls respectively, with no statistically significant difference (-0.23%, 95% CI: -1.4% to 0.9%, p=0.70, Figure 1). The observed overall survival (adjusted for predicted 1 year OS) also increased in both BECs and controls by 0.9% and 4.5% respectively, without statistically significant difference (-3.6%, 95% CI: -6.7% to -0.7%, p=0.02). Discussion For centers receiving a -1 report, no statistically significant changes were seen in patient population characteristics in the following 3 years when compared to centers with OS was as expected. There was variability in the changes in high-risk patient characteristics at the NBCs relative to the controls, and in some cases more patients with high-risk characteristics were selected at these centers compared to those at controls. The change in predicted overall survival at 1 year, a summary indicator of survival risk, was similar between BECs and control centers. Although the number of patients in centers with below expected OS was small, these findings suggest the public reporting of outcomes in HCT in the US does not unintentionally affect access to HCT for high-risk patients at NBCs.

AbstractStudy ObjectiveTo develop and validate a model for predicting acute kidney injury (AKI) after high‐dose methotrexate (HDMTX) exposure.DesignRetrospective analysis.SettingMultisite integrated health system throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.PatientsAdult patients with lymphoma who received HDMTX as a 4‐h infusion.Measurements and Main ResultsLASSO methodology was used to identify factors available at the outset of therapy that predicted incident AKI within 7 days following HDMTX. The model was then validated in an independent cohort. The incidence of AKI within 7 days following HDMTX was 21.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) 18.4%‐24.8%) in the derivation cohort (435 unique patients who received a total of 1642 doses of HDMTX) and 15.6% (95% CI 5.3%‐24.8%) in the validation cohort (55 unique patients who received a total of 247 doses of HDMTX). Factors significantly associated with AKI after HDMTX in the multivariable model included age ≥ 55 years, male sex, and lower HDMTX dose number. Other factors that were not found to be significantly associated with AKI on multivariable analysis, but were included in the final model, were body surface area, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. The c‐statistic of the model was 0.72 (95% CI 0.69‐0.75) in the derivation cohort and 0.72 (95% CI 0.60‐0.84) in the validation cohort.ConclusionThis model utilizing identified sociodemographic and clinical factors is predictive of AKI following HDMTX administration in adult patients with lymphoma.

AbstractBackgroundPneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is a growing concern as the immunocompromised population expands. Current laboratory approaches are limited. This systematic review aimed to evaluate metagenomic next-generation sequencing (MNGS) tests’ performance in detecting PCP.MethodsFive databases were searched through December 19, 2022, to identify original studies comparing MNGS with clinically diagnosed PCP. To assess the accuracy, symmetric hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic models were used.ResultsEleven observational studies reporting 1442 patients (424 with PCP) were included. Six studies focused exclusively on recipients of biologic immunosuppression (none with HIV-associated immunosuppression). Six were exclusively on bronchoalveolar lavage, while 1 was on blood samples. The sensitivity of MGNS was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.90–0.99), and specificity was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.92–0.98), with negative and positive likelihood ratios of 0.02 (95% CI, 0.01–0.05) and 19.31 (95% CI, 10.26–36.36), respectively. A subgroup analysis of studies exclusively including bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and blood samples demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.78–0.99) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.80–0.98) and a specificity of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.88–0.99) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.76–1.00), respectively. The sensitivity analysis on recipients of biologic immunosuppression showed a sensitivity and specificity of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.90–0.98) and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.84–0.98), respectively. The overall confidence in the estimates was low.ConclusionsDespite the low certainty of evidence, MNGS detects PCP with high sensitivity and specificity. This also applies to recipients of biologic immunosuppression and tests performed exclusively on blood samples without the need for BAL. Further studies are required in individuals with HIV-associated immunosuppression.

Background Polygenic risk score (PRS), calculated based on genome-wide association studies (GWASs), can improve breast cancer (BC) risk assessment. To date, most BC GWASs have been performed in individuals of European (EUR) ancestry, and the generalisation of EUR-based PRS to other populations is a major challenge. In this study, we examined the performance of EUR-based BC PRS models in Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) women. Methods We generated PRSs based on data on EUR women from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC). We tested the performance of the PRSs in a cohort of 2161 AJ women from Israel (1437 cases and 724 controls) from BCAC (BCAC cohort from Israel (BCAC-IL)). In addition, we tested the performance of these EUR-based BC PRSs, as well as the established 313-SNP EUR BC PRS, in an independent cohort of 181 AJ women from Hadassah Medical Center (HMC) in Israel. Results In the BCAC-IL cohort, the highest OR per 1 SD was 1.56 (±0.09). The OR for AJ women at the top 10% of the PRS distribution compared with the middle quintile was 2.10 (±0.24). In the HMC cohort, the OR per 1 SD of the EUR-based PRS that performed best in the BCAC-IL cohort was 1.58±0.27. The OR per 1 SD of the commonly used 313-SNP BC PRS was 1.64 (±0.28). Conclusions Extant EUR GWAS data can be used for generating PRSs that identify AJ women with markedly elevated risk of BC and therefore hold promise for improving BC risk assessment in AJ women.