Tumor Lysis Syndrome following a Single Dose of Nivolumab for Relapsed Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is an oncologic emergency most frequently associated with initial treatment of hematologic malignancies and high-tumor burden solid tumors such as small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Most often, TLS is associated with cytotoxic chemotherapy. In the treatment of SCLC, a paradigm shift has taken place in which immunotherapy is often added to chemotherapy for extensive-stage disease in the frontline setting or as monotherapy in the relapsed setting. Nivolumab is a programmed death 1 receptor blocking antibody previously FDA indicated for the treatment of metastatic SCLC with progression after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other line of therapy. Nivolumab, like all immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies, is associated with immune-mediated adverse reactions; however, there are few reported cases of nivolumab-induced TLS. We present a case of nivolumab-induced TLS following a single infusion. An 86-year-old female with a history of widely metastatic SCLC with metastasis to the liver, bone, and lymph nodes presented to the hospital following a fall due to weakness, dizziness, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain occurring 6 days after receiving her first nivolumab infusion. After extensive evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with TLS with hyperkalemia, acute renal failure, hyperphosphatemia, and hypocalcemia. She was treated aggressively with intravenous fluids, rasburicase, and sodium polystyrene sulfate (Kayexalate®), which resulted in rapid improvement of her electrolytes and renal function. However, despite correction of electrolytes and overall symptomatic improvement, over the course of several days, the patient's condition rapidly deteriorated with increasing dyspnea, lethargy, confusion, and eventually death. TLS following nivolumab is exceedingly rare. This report highlights the potential risk of development of TLS with checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Letting the Patient Decide: A Case Report of Self-Administered Sedation During Mechanical Ventilation.

It is common for critical care nurses to administer sedative medications to patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Although patient-controlled analgesia is frequently used in practice to promote effective self-management of pain by patients, it is not known if patient-controlled sedation can be used to promote effective self-management of distressing symptoms associated with mechanical ventilation. A randomized pilot trial was conducted to evaluate whether patient self-administered sedation with dexmedetomidine is safe and acceptable for self-management of anxiety during ventilator support. This case report details the experiences of one patient enrolled in the pilot trial who was randomly assigned to the experimental dexmedetomidine intervention, completed the study protocol, and provided feedback. In a poststudy survey, the patient responded positively to the use of self-administered sedation with dexmedetomidine during ventilator support.