Browsing by Subject "Follow-up"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Clinical Characteristics of Hospital Follow-up for Patients Hospitalized from SARS CoV-2 (COVID 19) in an Academic Outpatient Internal Medicine Clinic
    (Sage, 2022) Abohelwa, Mostafa; Peterson, Christopher J.; Landis, Dylan; Le, Duc; Conde, Camila; DeWare, Charles; Elgendy, Fares; Payne, Drew; Nugent, Kenneth; Graduate Medical Education, School of Medicine
    Background: As of July 2022, there have been more than 91.3 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 1.03 million deaths in the United States alone. In addition, many people who survived COVID-19 had long-term symptoms, such as fatigue, dyspnea, loss of smell and taste, depression, and anxiety. Objectives: The purpose of our study is to evaluate the status of COVID-19 patients who were previously hospitalized. Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and its affiliated University Medical Center under IRB of L21-144. We included all patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and followed up in our Internal Medicine Clinic at any time between April 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, and reviewed follow-up data for these patients after discharge. Results: A total of 128 patients were included; 59 (46%) were men, and 69 (54%) were women with an average age of 59.7 ± 14.8 years. Most of the patients (n = 78, 60.9%) identified their race as Hispanic or Latino origin; the next largest group was Caucasian (n = 29, 22.65%). The average number of days until post-hospitalization follow-up was 36 ± 38 days. The 50% of the patients (n = 64) used telemedicine for follow-up visits. Important comorbidities in these patients included diabetes (n = 84, 65.6%) and hypertension (n = 94, 73.4%). Thirty-four patients (26.6%) reported respiratory symptoms at their follow-up appointments, 24 patients (18.8%) reported constitutional symptoms, 12 patients (9.4%) reported GI symptoms, and 25 patients (19.5%) reported other symptoms, such as paresthesia, lower extremity edema, or psychological symptoms. After hospital discharge, 54 patients had follow-up chest x-rays, and 41 (75.9%) still had abnormal findings consistent with COVID-19 imaging characteristics. Follow-up laboratory tests identified 44 patients (77.2%, 57 tested) with elevated D-dimer levels, 44 patients (78.6%, 56 tested) with high ferritin levels, and 21patients (35.6%, 59 tested) with elevated troponin T HS levels. Conclusion: Long-lasting COVID-19 symptoms in these patients included respiratory symptoms (26.6%), constitutional symptoms (18.8%), GI symptoms (9.4%), and other symptoms, such as paresthesia, lower extremity edema, or psychological symptoms (19.5%). The rate of telehealth follow-up was 50%. Many patients had elevated inflammatory markers that will need follow up to determine the clinical implications.
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    Emerging Molecular Technologies in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Liquid Biopsy
    (MDPI, 2019-02-07) Cimadamore, Alessia; Gasparrini, Silvia; Massari, Francesco; Santoni, Matteo; Cheng, Liang; Lopez-Beltran, Antonio; Scarpelli, Marina; Montironi, Rodolfo; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, IU School of Medicine
    Liquid biopsy, based on the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free nucleic acids has potential applications at multiple points throughout the natural course of cancer, from diagnosis to follow-up. The advantages of doing ctDNA assessment vs. tissue-based genomic profile are the minimal procedural risk, the possibility to serial testing in order to monitor disease-relapse and response to therapy over time and to reduce hospitalization costs during the entire process. However, some critical issues related to ctDNA assays should be taken into consideration. The sensitivity of ctDNA assays depends on the assessment technique and genetic platforms used, on tumor-organ, stage, tumor heterogeneity, tumor clonality. The specificity is usually very high, whereas the concordance with tumor-based biopsy is generally low. In patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), qualitative analyses of ctDNA have been performed with interesting results regarding selective pressure from therapy, therapeutic resistance, exceptional treatment response to everolimus and mutations associated with aggressive behavior. Quantitative analyses showed variations of ccfDNA levels at different tumor stage. Compared to CTC assay, ctDNA is more stable than cells and easier to isolate. Splice variants, information at single-cell level and functional assays along with proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics studies can be performed only in CTCs.
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    Oncological Follow-up Strategies for Testicular Germ Cell Tumours: A Narrative Review
    (Elsevier, 2022-09-07) Kaufmann, Ernest; Antonelli, Luca; Albers, Peter; Cary, Clint; Gillessen Sommer, Silke; Heidenreich, Axel; Oing, Christoph; Oldenburg, Jan; Pierorazio, Phillip Martin; Stephenson, Andrew J.; Fankhauser, Christian Daniel; Urology, School of Medicine
    Context: The aim of this review is to describe the proportion of testicular germ cell tumours (tGCTs) with recurrence, and the timing and anatomical sites of relapse across different disease stages and after different treatment options. We summarise published follow-up protocols and discuss current and future developments to personalise follow-up for patients with tGCT. Evidence acquisition: A systematic literature search was conducted and current guidelines and selected institutional follow-up protocols were reviewed. Evidence synthesis: Of 302 publications, we screened 68 full texts and included 29 studies; 22 of these were retrospective and seven were prospective in nature, contributing data for 20 570 patients. The number of patients included per study ranged from 119 to 2483. We compared the guideline follow-up protocols of the European Society for Medical Oncology, European Association of Urology, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and American Urological Association, as well as institutional follow-up protocols. The protocols differed in terms of the number, time points, and type of follow-up investigations. Conclusions: Future research should assess how tGCT can be followed to ensure high adherence, define the role of miR-371a-3p microRNA during follow-up, and develop follow-up protocols after curative treatment in the metastatic setting. Patient summary: In this review of follow-up protocols for men with testis cancer, we observed different recommendations and discuss future research areas to improve follow-up for these patients.
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    Recruitment and Retention Strategies for the Diabetes RElated to Acute Pancreatitis and Its Mechanisms Study: From the Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis Consortium
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2022) Yazici, Cemal; Dyer, Anne-Marie; Conwell, Darwin L.; Afghani, Elham; Andersen, Dana K.; Basina, Marina; Bellin, Melena D.; Boone, Leslie R.; Casu, Anna; Easler, Jeffrey J.; Greenbaum, Carla J.; Hart, Phil A.; Jeon, Christie Y.; Lee, Peter J.; Meier, Shelby; Papachristou, Georgios I.; Raja-Khan, Nazia T.; Saeed, Zeb I.; Serrano, Jose; Yadav, Dhiraj; Fogel, Evan L.; Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis Consortium (T1DAP); Medicine, School of Medicine
    Recruitment and retention of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) in clinical studies can be challenging. While some obstacles are similar to other clinical conditions, some are unique to AP. Identifying potential barriers early and developing targeted solutions can help optimize recruitment and retention in AP studies. Such preemptive and detailed planning can help prospective, longitudinal studies focusing on exocrine and endocrine complications of AP in accurately measuring outcomes. This manuscript highlights the challenges in recruitment and retention strategies in AP studies and reviews available resources to create opportunities to address them. We describe the multifaceted approach used by the Recruitment and Retention Committee of the Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis Consortium (T1DAPC), which builds upon earlier experiences to develop a recruitment and retention plan for the DREAM (Diabetes RElated to Acute pancreatitis and its Mechanisms) study.
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    Supporting Occupational Justice for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming People Through Narrative-Informed Theater: A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study
    (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2021-07-01) Wasmuth, Sally; Leonhardt, Bethany; Pritchard, Kevin; Li, Chih-Ying; DeRolf, Annie; Mahaffey, Lisa; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Importance: Societal stigma gravely impedes occupational justice for transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) people, producing vast health disparities for this population. Objective: To test the feasibility of an intervention to reduce stigma and improve the well-being of TGNC people. Design: A parallel, mixed-methods design was used to test feasibility in the areas of acceptability, demand, and limited efficacy. Setting: Community. Participants: Forty-two audience members and 5 TGNC interviewees. Intervention: Virtual, narrative-informed play reading and moderated discussion about gender diversity and affirmative care. Outcomes and Measures: The valid and reliable Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Stigma was used to assess stigma beliefs. An open-ended, qualitative question assessed TGNC interviewees' experiences. Results: Recruitment and participant responses to the intervention indicated feasibility in the areas of acceptability, demand, and limited efficacy. However, future efforts at obtaining a diverse TGNC sample are needed. Conclusions and relevance: The intervention decreased stigma beliefs in audience members and offered a positive experience for TGNC participants. Feasibility outcomes warrant future efficacy testing. What This Article Adds: This article adds an innovative intervention for promoting occupational justice to support the health and well-being of TGNC people. The community-based intervention facilitates change in societal attitudes and stigmatizing beliefs.
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    Survival following allogeneic transplant in patients with myelofibrosis
    (American Society of Hematology, 2020-05-08) Gowin, Krisstina; Ballen, Karen; Ahn, Kwang Woo; Hu, Zhen-Huan; Ali, Haris; Arcasoy, Murat O.; Devlin, Rebecca; Coakley, Maria; Gerds, Aaron T.; Green, Michael; Gupta, Vikas; Hobbs, Gabriela; Jain, Tania; Kandarpa, Malathi; Komrokji, Rami; Kuykendall, Andrew T.; Luber, Kierstin; Masarova, Lucia; Michaelis, Laura C.; Patches, Sarah; Pariser, Ashley C.; Rampal, Raajit; Stein, Brady; Talpaz, Moshe; Verstovsek, Srdan; Wadleigh, Martha; Agrawal, Vaibhav; Aljurf, Mahmoud; Diaz, Miguel Angel; Avalos, Belinda R.; Bacher, Ulrike; Bashey, Asad; Beitinjaneh, Amer M.; Cerny, Jan; Chhabra, Saurabh; Copelan, Edward; Cutler, Corey S.; DeFilipp, Zachariah; Gadalla, Shahinaz M.; Ganguly, Siddhartha; Grunwald, Michael R.; Hashmi, Shahrukh K.; Kharfan-Dabaja, Mohamed A.; Kindwall-Keller, Tamila; Kröger, Nicolaus; Lazarus, Hillard M.; Liesveld, Jane L.; Litzow, Mark R.; Marks, David I.; Nathan, Sunita; Nishihori, Taiga; Olsson, Richard F.; Pawarod, Attaphol; Rowe, Jacob M.; Savani, Bipin N.; Savoie, Mary Lynn; Seo, Sachiko; Solh, Melhem; Tamari, Roni; Verdonck, Leo F.; Yared, Jean A.; Alyea, Edwin; Popat, Uday; Sobecks, Ronald; Scott, Bart L.; Nakamura, Ryotaro; Mesa, Ruben; Saber, Wael; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only curative therapy for myelofibrosis (MF). In this large multicenter retrospective study, overall survival (OS) in MF patients treated with allogeneic HCT (551 patients) and without HCT (non-HCT) (1377 patients) was analyzed with Cox proportional hazards model. Survival analysis stratified by the Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System (DIPSS) revealed that the first year of treatment arm assignment, due to upfront risk of transplant-related mortality (TRM), HCT was associated with inferior OS compared with non-HCT (non-HCT vs HCT: DIPSS intermediate 1 [Int-1]: hazard ratio [HR] = 0.26, P < .0001; DIPSS-Int-2 and higher: HR, 0.39, P < .0001). Similarly, in the DIPSS low-risk MF group, due to upfront TRM risk, OS was superior with non-HCT therapies compared with HCT in the first-year post treatment arm assignment (HR, 0.16, P = .006). However, after 1 year, OS was not significantly different (HR, 1.38, P = .451). Beyond 1 year of treatment arm assignment, an OS advantage with HCT therapy in Int-1 and higher DIPSS score patients was observed (non-HCT vs HCT: DIPSS-Int-1: HR, 2.64, P < .0001; DIPSS-Int-2 and higher: HR, 2.55, P < .0001). In conclusion, long-term OS advantage with HCT was observed for patients with Int-1 or higher risk MF, but at the cost of early TRM. The magnitude of OS benefit with HCT increased as DIPSS risk score increased and became apparent with longer follow-up.