ABSTRACT
The term refeeding syndrome (RFS) refers to the metabolic perturbations and its attendant complications in subjects who are refed after fasting. The syndrome is characterized by profound shifts of electrolytes and fluids. Its consequences are widespread and sometimes fatal. Patients with malignancies are especially vulnerable due to the presence of multiple comorbidities. We report the course of four patients with malignant or hematological disorders who developed RFS while being treated for their underlying illness. All physicians caring for susceptible patients should be cognizant of the risks of refeeding and treat RFS appropriately to reduce patient morbidity as well as mortality.
ABSTRACT
To evaluate the long-term outcome of dose density chemotherapy in the treatment of aggressive lymphoma, we analyzed 142 patients with untreated aggressive lymphoma. Chemotherapy was an eight-drug regimen given in weekly intervals in two prospective trials. The median observation period was 8 years; the longest follow-up was 13 years. Overall survival at 8 years was 0.583. The 8-year survival of patients < or =60 years was significantly better than that of older patients, namely 0.713 vs 0.304 (p=0.000000697). This excellent survival of patients aged < or =60 years was identical for high-risk and high-intermediate-risk patients compared with low-risk and low-intermediate-risk patients in the age-adjusted international prognostic index (IPI). The excellent long-term results of the CEOP/IMVP-Dexa regimen (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone/ifosfamide with systemic mesna, methotrexate, etoposide, and dexamethasone) for patients aged < or =60 years suggest that this regimen might be superior to the standard CHOP regimen (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) and needs to be tested in comparison to high-dose regimens and novel approaches including antibody treatment.
