Prognostic utility of CURB-65 and E-CURB-65 scoring systems in healthcare associated pneumonia patients: Short- and long-term mortality

Background

The aim of our study is to evaluate whether the CURB-65 or expanded-CURB-65 score can be used in healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) and subgroups of HCAP patients at the same efficiency. Thirty and 90-day mortality rates of the patients and predictive values of CURB-65 and E-CURB-65 scores were compared.

Patients and Methods

This is a retrospective study of patients who presented to the Emergency Department between January 2015 and January 2016. All patient charts above 18 years of age were evaluated according to American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (ATS/IDSA) pneumonia diagnostic criteria and pneumonia diagnoses were confirmed.

Results

167 pneumonia patients (27.8%) of all pneumonia cases were grouped as HCAP and 433 (54.4%) were grouped as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). 43% (n = 72) of HCAP patients were classified as nursing home-associated pneumonia (NHAP) and 57% (n = 95) were classified as HCAP (except NHAP) group. NHAP patients were older than the other groups. HCAP (except NHAP) group had somehow more comorbid diseases when compared with the other groups. However, the NHAP group had more unstable vital signs and confusion rates. Hospital and ICU admissions, 30-90-day mortality rates were all significantly higher in NHAP group E-CURB-65 was found to have better predictive values than CURB-65 for 30-day and 90-day mortalities overall.

Conclusion

According to our results, commonly used scoring systems, CURB 65 and E-CURB 65, are not suitable for HCAP, NHAP, and HCAP (except NHAP) patients. NHAP patients have significant worse prognosis compared with CAP and HCAP (except NHAP) in terms of admission to intensive care and 30 and 90-day mortality rates.

Adjuvant treatment with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab for node-negative breast cancer: real-life experience

Background: In node-negative HER2-overexpressed breast cancers, adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzumab treatment is a successful de-escalation approach with excellent survival outcomes. Methods: All patients with HER2+ breast cancer treated in our centers were retrospectively reviewed. Results: We analyzed 173 patients who were treated with adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzumab. The mean tumor size was 2.2 cm. There were eight invasive disease events or death: four distant recurrences (2.3%), three locoregional recurrences (1.7%) and one death without documented recurrence after a 52 month follow-up. The 3-year disease-free survival and recurrence-free interval rate was 96.6%. Conclusion: This real-life experience with adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzumab demonstrated few distant recurrences and is compatible with the APT trial findings.

Abstract PS10-52: Adjuvant treatment with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab for node negative human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer: Real life experience

BackgroundInvasive breast cancers are characterized by overexpression or amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) approximately 15 to 25%. Survival outcomes was improved after introduction of Trastuzumab treatment. Trastuzumab treatment was applied mostly with combination chemotherapy regimens at pivotal trials. There were some efforts to avoid the toxicity of combination chemotherapies and reduce the amount of treatment given especially in stage I HER 2 overexpressed breast cancer patients. Adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzumab was shown excellent disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in node negative, 3 cm and smaller HER 2 overexpressed breast cancer patients. MethodsAll breast cancer patients that treated in Medical Oncology departments of Hacettepe University (Ankara, Turkey), Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Oncology Training and Research Hospital (Ankara, Turkey), Nicosia Dr. Burhan Nalbantoglu State Hospital (Nicosia, Cyprus) and Near East University (Nicosia, Cyprus) were retrospectively reviewed from patient files, center’s databases and chemotherapy files.ResultsWe retrospectively analyzed 173 patients who treated with adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzmab between April 1, 2012 and April 10, 2020. Median age was 52 years (range, 25 to 84 years) and 62.4% had estrogen receptor positive disease. 68.8% of the tumors were high-grade. 14.4% of patients had tumors 1 cm or smaller. 45.0% of patients had tumors larger than 2 cm and 32.3% of patients had tumors larger than 2 cm and up to 3 cm. 12.6% of patients had tumors larger than 3 cm. Mean tumor size was 2.2 cm. 88.4% of patients had N0 disease and 2.9% of patients had microscopic nodal metastasis. 164 of 173 patients completed all 52 weeks of adjuvant treatment. Median follow up of 43 months there were 8 DFS events observed: four distant recurrences (2.3%), three locoregional recurrences (1.7%) and one died without documented recurrence. 3-year DFS rate was 96.6%. There was no recurrences in patients who had tumors 1 cm or smaller. There were 5 DFS events in patients had tumors larger than 2 cm and up to 3 cm subgrup. ConclusionThis real life experience with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab demonstrated few distant recurrences and further supports the APT trial findings.

Table 2. Events Observed for the Disease-free Survival.EventsPatients (N=173)Time to Eventno. (%)moAny recurrence or death8 (4.6)Local or regional recurrenceIpsilateral axilla, HER2-positive2 (1.1)25, 64Ipsilateral breast, HER2-positive1 (0.6)48Distant recurrence4 (2.3)7, 35, 36, 42DeathNot breast-cancer–related1 (0.6)52

Citation Format: Omer Diker, Burak Yasin Aktas, Recep Ak, Bahadir Koylu, Onur Bas, Polat Olgun, Hakan Taban, Deniz Can Guven, Neyran Kertmen, Berna Oksuzoglu, Sercan Aksoy. Adjuvant treatment with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab for node negative human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer: Real life experience [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS10-52.

Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) Representation in Predictive Model Markup Language (PMML)

This paper describes Gaussian process regression (GPR) models presented in predictive model markup language (PMML). PMML is an extensible-markup-language (XML) -based standard language used to represent data-mining and predictive analytic models, as well as pre- and post-processed data. The previous PMML version, PMML 4.2, did not provide capabilities for representing probabilistic (stochastic) machine-learning algorithms that are widely used for constructing predictive models taking the associated uncertainties into consideration. The newly released PMML version 4.3, which includes the GPR model, provides new features: confidence bounds and distribution for the predictive estimations. Both features are needed to establish the foundation for uncertainty quantification analysis. Among various probabilistic machine-learning algorithms, GPR has been widely used for approximating a target function because of its capability of representing complex input and output relationships without predefining a set of basis functions, and predicting a target output with uncertainty quantification. GPR is being employed to various manufacturing data-analytics applications, which necessitates representing this model in a standardized form for easy and rapid employment. In this paper, we present a GPR model and its representation in PMML. Furthermore, we demonstrate a prototype using a real data set in the manufacturing domain.

Gastrointestinal symptoms are closely associated with depression in iron deficiency anemia: a comparative study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Until now, very few studies evaluated the association between gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms in iron deficiency anemia (IDA). The study investigated the frequency of functional dyspepsia (FD) in IDA patients and determined its association with depression and somatization.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS

The study was conducted at the Hematology Department of Trakya University Medical Faculty, which is a tertiary referral center in northwestern Turkey. It was a case-control study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 125 consecutive IDA patients and 57 healthy control subjects were included. Patients and controls were questioned about the severity of their gastrointestinal system (GIS)-related symptoms and the presence of constipation and associated symptoms using a visual analog scale. In addition, IDA patients were administered a validated depression scale (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI) and somatization symptoms checklist.

RESULTS

IDA patients had more frequent self-reported constipation compared with controls (56% vs 22.8%, P < .001). The mean scores of bloating, dyspepsia, and constipation-related quality of life (QoL) disturbance were significantly higher in the IDA group than in the control group (all P values.

Clinical characteristics of haematological malignancy patients diagnosed with leukaemia cutis: Experience of a single centre

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the clinical characteristics of patients with haematological malignancies at our centre who were diagnosed with leukaemia cutis (LC). In addition, we describe the spectrum of other skin lesions, including, secondary skin malignancies and nonspecific benign skin lesions in haematological malignancy patients.

METHODS

We defined 58 skin lesions that developed in 54 inpatients hospitalised in the Department of Haematology, Trakya University Medical Faculty, Turkey. All skin lesions that developed in inpatients between 2006 and 2012 had been evaluated by a dermatologist. The patients' clinical features, skin biopsy results and therapies were obtained from hospital files. The diagnosis of LC was based on clinical features and histopathological examinations of the skin biopsy.

RESULTS

There were 11 patients with LC. Six (54.5%) had acute myeloblastic leukaemia. In nine patients (82%), LC was present at the initial presentation. Secondary skin malignancy was detected in 11 patients (five basal cell carcinoma, four Kaposi's sarcoma, one squamous cell carcinoma, one malignant melanoma); and malignancy was present in two patients (18%) at the initial presentation. Nonspecific benign skin lesions, the most frequent of which were drug eruptions, were determined in 32 of our patients. LC had a significantly higher likelihood of being present at initial presentation than other skin lesions (P < 0.01). The median survival in LC patients was quite short (4.5 months).

CONCLUSIONS

LC was usually diagnosed at the initial presentation of the patient or during the early course of the disease. Having LC was a poor prognostic factor.

Clinical features and types of articular involvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a psoriasis-associated inflammatory arthritis which causes joint destruction. There are some epidemiologic data about PsA; however, there are no sufficient data from Turkey. Herein, we evaluated the frequency of PsA in the Thrace region of Turkey according to hospital-based data. In addition, we evaluated clinical features and types of joint involvement in PsA patients. We included 172 PsA patients fulfilling CASPAR criteria admitted to the Division of Rheumatology, Trakya University Medical Faculty, between 2003 and 2012. Data from Turkish Statistical Institution was used to calculate the incidence and prevalence of PsA. Patients' demographic features, durations of psoriasis and PsA, number of tender and swollen joints, treatment modalities, laboratory data, and X-ray film findings were recorded from hospital files. The annual incidence of PsA was 2.8/100,000. The mean annual incidence was 3.47/100,000 in females and 2.15/100,000 in males. The overall prevalence of PsA in our region was 27.9/100,000 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 23.7-32.1) in individuals >16 years. The prevalence of PsA was higher in females than in males (34.7/100,000 vs. 21.5/100,000). Polyarthritis was present in 67 (38.9 %), oligoarthritis in 47 (27.3 %), spondyloarthritis in 39 (22.6 %), and distal interphalangeal (DIP) arthritis in 19 (11.0 %) patients. The duration of psoriasis was significantly longer in polyarticular PsA patients than in DIP and oligoarticular groups (p values = 0.016 and 0.018, respectively). The number of swollen joints correlated with age (r = 0.21, p = 0.006), duration of psoriasis (r = 0.20, p = 0.01), number of tender joints (r = 0.92, p ≤ 0.001), ESR (r = 0.24, p = 0.001), and CRP (r = 0.17, p = 0.026). The frequency of PsA in Thrace region is similar to that in low-frequency regions. The most frequent type of involvement was polyarticular, and it correlated with the duration of psoriasis and erosive disease.