melphalan and Staphylococcal-Infections

The brief period of neutropenia and limited nonmarrow toxicity after high-dose melphalan (HDM) provide a rationale for outpatient treatment.. Our experience with HDM (140-200 mg/m(2)) in 90 consecutive transplant episodes was retrospectively reviewed. Most patients were treated in an outpatient setting. Patients without a primary care provider (PCP) were electively admitted before the anticipated onset of neutropenia. Ceftriaxone was added to ciprofloxacin at the onset of neutropenia. All febrile patients were admitted.. The median time from peripheral blood progenitor cell infusion to onset of neutropenia was 5 days (range, 4-6 days), and the mean duration of neutropenia was 5 days (range, 4-7 days). Thirty-eight transplants (42%) were performed entirely in the outpatient setting. The mean duration of hospitalization was 2.2 days in patients not electively admitted. The use of ceftriaxone was associated with a decreased risk for fever (39% vs. 79%) and reduced duration of hospitalization (1.6 days vs. 4.5 days) for nonelectively admitted patients. There was no treatment-related mortality.. Ambulatory therapy with HDM is safe and can be achieved in a general outpatient setting. The predictable time to neutropenia allows even poor candidates for outpatient therapy to be admitted electively on Day +4. The apparent beneficial effect of ceftriaxone needs to be confirmed in randomized trials.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Ambulatory Care; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotic Prophylaxis; Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; Bacteremia; Ceftriaxone; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fever; Hospitalization; Humans; Incidence; Length of Stay; Melphalan; Middle Aged; Multiple Myeloma; Neutropenia; Retrospective Studies; Staphylococcal Infections; Stem Cell Transplantation

A study in 10 patients (eight male, two female; mean age 61.9 +/- 10.7 years) suffering from multiple myeloma (MM) and end-stage renal failure (ESRF) is detailed. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) was the preferred mode of chronic dialysis in all the patients. Survival after diagnosis was 32.2 +/- 23.9 months. Survival after starting dialysis was 24.6 +/- 20.6 months. All patients on CAPD were adequately dialyzed and in good fluid control. Peritonitis was the main problem on CAPD (one episode per 5.6 patient-months). The majority of peritonitis episodes responded to intraperitoneal antibiotic therapy. One patient with Staphylococcus aureus peritonitis, septicemia, and neutropenia secondary to chemotherapy, died. Recommendations for prophylaxis and treatment of peritonitis are given. Three patients were transferred to hemodialysis. The use of subclavian vein catheters during hemodialysis was associated with a high incidence of gram-positive septicemia. Alkylating agent-based chemotherapy resulted in hematological responses in five patients. Survival after diagnosis in those responders was 47.4 +/- 25.6 months, compared with 17.0 +/- 7.2 months in the nonresponders (P less than 0.05). All responders subsequently relapsed. Four patients died with progressive myeloma. Bone marrow suppression resulted in a high blood transfusion requirement, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia associated with bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system. Uremic myeloma patients can be adequately dialyzed using CAPD. Those patients who do not have an initial hematological response have a poor prognosis.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Cyclophosphamide; Female; Humans; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Length of Stay; Male; Melphalan; Middle Aged; Multiple Myeloma; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory; Peritonitis; Prednisolone; Sepsis; Staphylococcal Infections; Survival Rate

Topics: Animals; Blood Protein Electrophoresis; Busulfan; Cyclophosphamide; Freund's Adjuvant; gamma-Globulins; Melphalan; Mice; Multiple Myeloma; Neoplasm Proteins; Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Experimental; Nitrogen Mustard Compounds; Pharmacology; Plasmacytoma; Proteinuria; Research; Staphylococcal Infections