A Co-Management Model For Myeloid Malignancies that Evolved During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Myeloid malignancies are a heterogenous group of clonal bone marrow disorders that are complex to manage in the community and therefore often referred to sub-specialists at tertiary oncology referral centers. A large group of patients do not live in close proximity to tertiary referral centers and are unable to commute large distances due to age, co-morbidities and frailty. We describe a cancer care delivery model for patients with myeloid malignancies that is built around tele-health and enables this vulnerable population access to care at an NCI designated cancer center without having to travel long distances. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We report on a cohort of patients with myeloid malignancies who were co-managed by a general community oncologist and an academic leukemia sub-specialist at Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center in New York. Patients were initially referred to our institute for a second opinion by community practices that are in partnership with Montefiore Health System, and initial visits were in-person or via tele-health, treatment plan was made after discussion with patient's local community oncologist. Patients then continued to receive majority of their treatment and supportive care including transfusion support with their local oncologist and follow-up visits were mainly via tele-health with the academic leukemia sub specialist. RESULTS: Our cohort of 12 patients had a median age of 81 years (range, 59-88 years). Patients remained on active treatment for a median time of 357 days (range, 154 - 557 days). Most of our patients had a performance status of ECOG 2 or higher. Three patients had MDS, seven patients had AML and two patients had myelofibrosis. Median number of hospitalizations over the total treatment time period was one. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate a shared academic and community care co-management model for the treatment of myeloid malignancies in elderly frail patients using tele-health as a backbone with a low hospitalization rate.

Neutrophilic Dermatosis and Management Strategies for the Inpatient Dermatologist.

Purpose of Review: Neutrophilic dermatoses are a heterogeneous group of disorders with significant overlap in associated conditions, clinical presentation, and histopathologic features. This review provides a structural overview of neutrophilic dermatoses that may present in the inpatient setting along with diagnostic work-up and management strategies. Recent Findings: Sweet's syndrome has been found in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) has been shown to be equally associated with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. A clinical trial shows that cyclosporine is equally effective as prednisone in treating PG. Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis has been found in the setting of newer antineoplastic medications, such as BRAF inhibitors, as well as in the setting of malignancy without chemotherapy exposure. Summary: Neutrophilic dermatoses are a rare and complex group of dermatoses with varying and overlapping clinical presentations. Physicians should be aware of the growing list of associated diseases in order to build a better differential diagnosis or to potentially investigate for co-existing disease.

Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation is Feasible in Patients with Prior COVID-19 Infection.

There are limited data on outcomes of patients with prior Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who proceeded to autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Whether these patients are more susceptible to poor outcomes and recurrence of COVID-19 is unknown. We report a retrospective analysis of outcomes of 15 consecutive patients with hematologic malignancies who experienced COVID-19 and subsequently underwent autologous (n = 8) or allogeneic (n = 7) HCT between June 17, 2020, and February 17, 2021. The cohort included patients with asymptomatic past infections or symptomatic COVID-19 disease. Data were obtained from chart review. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient characteristics. Among eight patients who underwent autologous HCT, four had a diagnosis of multiple myeloma and four had a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Four of these eight patients did not test positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody at any point during the course of treatment. The other four patients had detectable anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies before undergoing autologous HCT, but only two of these patients remained anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody-positive at their last follow-up. One patient died from progression of disease. Seven patients with prior COVID-19 underwent allogeneic HCT for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 3), acute myelogenous leukemia (n = 1), chronic myelogenous leukemia in lymphoid blast crisis (n = 1), myelodysplastic syndrome (n = 1), or myelofibrosis (n = 1). Three of the seven patients tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies following the initial COVID-19 diagnosis; however, only one of these patients retained anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody following allogeneic HCT. One patient died of infection (fungal and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia) occurring in the context of ongoing treatment for graft-versus-host disease. None of the 15 patients had recurrent COVID-19 infection. Based on our experience, autologous and allogeneic HCT can be safely performed in selected patients with previous COVID-19 infection.