ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-03-07DOI: 10.1159/000529972
Michael S Ewer, Steven M Ewer
{"title":"Arrhythmia in Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor-Treated Patients: Unanswered Questions.","authors":"Michael S Ewer, Steven M Ewer","doi":"10.1159/000529972","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000529972","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 3","pages":"168-169"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10223994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2022-10-21DOI: 10.1159/000526827
Ahmad Waleed Khatib, Samuel Maxwell Selub, Anton Uryvaey, Jalal Baranseh, Ayelet Shai
{"title":"Initiating Treatment with Low Fluorouracil Dose and Titrating According to Blood Levels in Patients Treated with a 46-Hour Continuous Infusion.","authors":"Ahmad Waleed Khatib, Samuel Maxwell Selub, Anton Uryvaey, Jalal Baranseh, Ayelet Shai","doi":"10.1159/000526827","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000526827","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Fluorouracil (5-FU) pharmacokinetics are variable, leading to a risk of toxicity in some patients and underdosing in others. Therapeutic drug monitoring of 5-FU was shown to reduce toxicity and increase efficacy. This study assessed the clinical utility of starting treatment with 70-80% of BSA calculated dose and titrating according to 5-FU blood levels and toxicity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database of 126 patients treated with regimens containing 5-FU bolus and continuous infusion for 46 h for whom the 5-FU blood level was collected at least once. Response,and date of progression, and death were collected for patients with colon and pancreatic cancer.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In multivariate analysis, 5-FU blood levels were correlated with 5-FU dose and with age, albeit a small effect size (coefficient = 0.007). Of patients with colon cancer treated with an initial lower 5-FU dose, 18% had a therapeutic 5-FU blood level. The median survival was similar in patients with metastatic colon cancer treated with lower doses and those treated with a full dose. Of patients with pancreatic cancer treated with lower doses, 40% had therapeutic blood levels. The median survival was 13 months in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer treated with lower 5-FU doses.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Starting treatment with low 5-FU dose was associated with patient survival comparable to other published data, and a sizeable percentage of patients had therapeutic blood levels. This approach can be considered, especially in elderly and frail patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 2","pages":"95-101"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9584295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of a Novel Combination Therapy, Based on Trifluridine/Tipiracil and Fruquintinib, against Colorectal Cancer.","authors":"Mamoru Nukatsuka, Akio Fujioka, Hideki Nagase, Gotaro Tanaka, Hiroaki Hayashi","doi":"10.1159/000528867","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000528867","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Trifluridine/tipiracil hydrochloride (FTD/TPI, Lonsurf®) is an oral antineoplastic agent that has been approved as late-stage chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Its major mechanism of action is the dysfunction of tumoral DNA including DNA strand breaks and decreased replication. Fruquintinib (ELUNATE®) is a novel kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1, -2, and -3. In this study, we evaluated the antitumor activity of combination therapy with FTD/TPI and fruquintinib in vivo.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The enhancement of the antitumor effects with FTD/TPI and fruquintinib combination, compared to the single drugs given alone was evaluated using two human colorectal cancer xenografts in nude mouse models. FTD/TPI (200 mg/kg) was orally administered for 5 consecutive days followed by 2 days of rest in a 7-day period. Fruquintinib (10 mg/kg) was orally administered consecutively for 2 and 3 weeks in SW48 and HCT 116 tumor-bearing models, respectively. After treatment with these agents, the microvessel density was evaluated by CD31 immunohistochemical analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In both models, FTD/TPI and fruquintinib significantly inhibited tumor growth, and the activity of the combined treatment was significantly superior to that of either monotherapy. Body weight loss of greater than 20% was not observed in any group. A histochemical analysis showed nuclei enlargement, abnormal mitosis, and karyorrhexis in the FTD/TPI treatment group. The microvessel density in the HCT 116 tumors treated with FTD/TPI and fruquintinib was significantly lower than that in the control group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The combination of FTD/TPI and fruquintinib could be a promising treatment option for colorectal cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 2","pages":"102-110"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10233702/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9936649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1159/000525819
Fulvia Fanelli, Stefan Hohaus, Maria Cantonetti, Giuseppe Cimino, Elsa Pennese, Roberta Battistini, Eugenio Galli, Raffaella Cerretti, Anna Proia, Federica Fatone, Ida Provenzano, Elisabetta Abruzzese, Erica Finolezzi, Alessandro Pulsoni, Luigi Rigacci
{"title":"Impact of Pretransplant Salvage Therapies on Outcome of Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Performing Allogeneic Transplant.","authors":"Fulvia Fanelli, Stefan Hohaus, Maria Cantonetti, Giuseppe Cimino, Elsa Pennese, Roberta Battistini, Eugenio Galli, Raffaella Cerretti, Anna Proia, Federica Fatone, Ida Provenzano, Elisabetta Abruzzese, Erica Finolezzi, Alessandro Pulsoni, Luigi Rigacci","doi":"10.1159/000525819","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000525819","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Allogeneic transplant is an effective salvage therapy in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) relapsed or refractory (R/R) to previous treatments. In recent years, immunotherapies (conjugated antibody and checkpoint inhibitors [CPI]) showed interesting results and were used as bridge therapies to allotransplant.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>The aim of this retrospective study in Lazio region was to evaluate the impact of these new therapies on outcome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) in comparison with standard chemotherapies used in the past.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We selected all consecutive patients with diagnosis of HL transplanted in four hematology transplant units, and we collected data obtained from patients' records concerning all the treatments before allo-SCT.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 56 patients were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent allo-SCT for R/R HL. Seventeen patients (30%) received chemotherapy prior to allo-SCT (group B); they were treated between 2008 and 2015; and 39 patients (70%) received brentuximab vedotin (BV), CPI, or both before allo-SCT as a bridge to transplant (group A); they were treated between 2012 and 2020. Twenty-five patients were treated with BV alone, 2 with CPI alone, and 12 first with BV and then with CPI. No patient received concomitant BV and CPI. At 5 years from allo-SCT, overall survival (OS) was 59% and progression-free survival (PFS) was 65%. No statistical differences in OS or PFS were observed between patients in groups A and B. Relapse was significantly associated with a lower survival. The only factor associated with a reduced risk of relapse was development of any grade acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) (p > 0.02).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This regional real-world experience shows the changes that have taken place in the last 10 years in R/R HL using new drugs to render a patient eligible for allo-SCT. This strategy appears to guarantee an impressive disease control with an increased risk of complications, for example, aGVHD, that appear to nullify this advantage at least in part.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 3","pages":"131-137"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10223960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acute Hepatitis E Infection during Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer: A Case Report.","authors":"Hiroki Okumura, Atsushi Miyamoto, Fumitaka Suzuki, Hisashi Takaya","doi":"10.1159/000530802","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000530802","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute hepatitis E, one of the causes of acute liver injury, has been increasingly diagnosed in developed countries in recent years. Misdiagnosis of acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection as drug-induced liver injury (DILI) may lead to discontinuation of effective chemotherapy. Thus, viral hepatitis, including hepatitis E, must be ruled out in the diagnosis of DILI. A 78-year-old woman with lung adenocarcinoma and multiple bone metastases received maintenance therapy with pemetrexed + pembrolizumab for a year. Increased aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, indicating acute liver injury, were observed. Initially, DILI was suspected, and she was given medications to lower the levels of hepatic enzymes. She was later admitted to the hospital with the chief complaint of general malaise and anorexia. Serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels were markedly elevated (381 and 854 U/L, respectively). Acute HEV infection was diagnosed based on the detection of serum HEV immunoglobulin A antibodies. The patient received liver support therapy, and the serum hepatic enzymes recovered to normal levels. Chemotherapy was resumed without any subsequent relapse of hepatic enzyme elevation. When DILI is suspected during chemotherapy, exclusion of viral hepatitis is mandatory, which can be achieved by measuring markers of hepatitis viruses, including HEV, and examining the patient's detailed medical history.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 3","pages":"155-159"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10226591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2022-11-10DOI: 10.1159/000528019
Giuseppe Boriani, Pierantonio Menna, Riccardo Morgagni, Giorgio Minotti, Marco Vitolo
{"title":"Ibrutinib and Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Focus on Atrial Fibrillation and Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias/Sudden Cardiac Death.","authors":"Giuseppe Boriani, Pierantonio Menna, Riccardo Morgagni, Giorgio Minotti, Marco Vitolo","doi":"10.1159/000528019","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000528019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The natural history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was dramatically improved by the introduction of ibrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. In this review, we aimed to summarize and critically evaluate the association between first- and second-generation BTK inhibitors and the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias (VA).</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Since the first clinical experience, the development of AF was observed as the result of off-target effects that likely combined with patient's predisposing risk factors and concomitant cardiac morbidities. More recently, both ibrutinib dose reduction and arrhythmia management allowed long-term treatment, with positive effects on progression-free survival and reduced all-cause mortality as well. Second-generation BTK inhibitors, acalabrutinib, and zanubrutinib have been tested and validated in CLL. A lower occurrence of AF as compared with ibrutinib has been found, although AF has always been a secondary endpoint of all studies that probed these agents.</p><p><strong>Key messages: </strong>For this reason, caution should be exercised before concluding that second-generation BTK inhibitors are safer than ibrutinib. Recent data on the effectiveness of ibrutinib over a follow-up of 8 years show a remarkable benefit on all-cause mortality, which is of great value also for interpreting the clinical impact of the few cases of VA and sudden cardiac death (SCD) reported for ibrutinib, independently of QT lengthening. Since a risk of VA and SCD has been recently reported also during treatment with second-generation BTK inhibitors, it appears that this risk, usually reaching its maximum size effect at long-term follow-up, likely denotes a class effect of BTK inhibitors.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 2","pages":"61-72"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9584309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1159/000530381
Yuan Yuan Shi, Long Su, Zeng Yan Liu, Yi Geng Cao, Xin Chen, Rong Li Zhang, Qing Zhen Liu, Jian Feng Yao, Wei Hua Zhai, Qiao Ling Ma, Er Lie Jiang, Ming Zhe Han
{"title":"A 7-Day Decitabine-Included Conditioning Regimen Accelerated Donor Hematopoietic Engraftment while Reduced the Occurrence of Mucositis without Interfering with Prognosis.","authors":"Yuan Yuan Shi, Long Su, Zeng Yan Liu, Yi Geng Cao, Xin Chen, Rong Li Zhang, Qing Zhen Liu, Jian Feng Yao, Wei Hua Zhai, Qiao Ling Ma, Er Lie Jiang, Ming Zhe Han","doi":"10.1159/000530381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000530381","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the standard and curative treatment strategy for patients with hematologic malignancies. Recently, decitabine-included regimens have been investigated by several studies including ours, which may prevent relapse of primary malignant diseases.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was to retrospectively evaluate a 7-day decitabine-included regimen with reduced dose of idarubicin for patients with hematologic malignancies who underwent allo-HSCT.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 84 patients were enrolled, including 24 cases in 7-day and 60 cases in 5-day decitabine groups, respectively. Patients conditioned with 7-day decitabine regimen showed accelerated neutrophil (12.05 ± 1.97 vs. 13.86 ± 3.15; u = 9.309, p < 0.001) and platelet (16.32 ± 6.27 vs. 21.37 ± 8.57; u = 8.887, p < 0.001) engraftment compared with those treated with 5-day decitabine regimen. Patients in the 7-day decitabine group showed a significantly lower incidence rate of total (50.00% [12/24] versus 78.33% [47/60]; χ2 = 6.583, p = 0.010) and grade III or above (4.17% [1/24] vs. 31.67% [19/60]; χ2 = 7.147, p = 0.008) oral mucositis compared to those in the 5-day decitabine group. However, the occurrence of other major complications post-allo-HSCT and outcomes of patients in these two groups were comparable.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results demonstrate that this 7-day decitabine-contained new conditioning regimen seems to be feasible and safe for patients with myeloid neoplasms who receive allo-HSCT, and a large-scale prospective study is needed to confirm the findings of this study.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 3","pages":"143-154"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10226073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1159/000526490
Chih-Jung Chen, Hanh T H Nguyen, Chih-Hao Huang, Hwei-Chung Wang, Chen-Teng Wu, Yao-Chung Wu, Geng-Yan He, Chiahung Chou, Hsiang-Wen Lin, Liang-Chih Liu
{"title":"Does the Timing of Eribulin Treatment for Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer Matter? Evidence from a Real-World Setting.","authors":"Chih-Jung Chen, Hanh T H Nguyen, Chih-Hao Huang, Hwei-Chung Wang, Chen-Teng Wu, Yao-Chung Wu, Geng-Yan He, Chiahung Chou, Hsiang-Wen Lin, Liang-Chih Liu","doi":"10.1159/000526490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000526490","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study aimed to examine the effectiveness and safety of eribulin used as an early-line (EL, i.e., first-/second-line) versus late-line (LL, i.e., third-line and beyond) chemotherapy for recurrent advanced or metastatic breast cancer (A/MBC) patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study conducted a retrospective observation of A/MBC patients initiating eribulin between January 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019, using medical database at a university-affiliated teaching hospital in Taiwan. Patients were assigned into either the EL or LL group based on the timing of respective eribulin treatments and were observed for at least 6 months up to December 2019 for progression-free survival (PFS), time to treatment failure (TTF), overall survival (OS), disease response, and occurrence of adverse events. The Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression survival analyses were performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 127 patients, 23.6% (n = 30) and 76.4% (n = 97) were assigned to the EL and LL groups, respectively, between which no difference in patient characteristics was noted. Median PFS and TTF were 6.5 months and 5.0 months for the EL and 4.2 months and 3.4 months for the LL, respectively. Median OS could not be estimated in the EL group and was 20.5 months in the LL group. Eribulin as an EL treatment was the only factor associated with longer TTF and OS, whereas the number of metastatic sites was additionally associated with PFS in the multivariate analysis. No complete response was reported in either group, but a partial response was obtained in 6.7% in the EL group and 3.1% in the LL group. The common adverse events between two groups were similar, including leukopenia (80.0%), neutropenia (76.7%), and anemia (60.0%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The eribulin used as an EL of chemotherapy was effective for A/MBC patients with known toxicities in this study, while eribulin as the LL chemotherapy showed consistent results with previous reports.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 1","pages":"23-34"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10603977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1159/000525906
Zhi Rao, Zhong-Fang He, Mao-Hua Zheng, Zi-Long Dang, Gang Yang, Yong-Hong Zhang, Ning Lu, Yu-Hui Wei
{"title":"Fusidic Acid and Its Major Active Metabolite Penetration into Cerebrospinal Fluid for Assessing Treatment of Intracranial Infections.","authors":"Zhi Rao, Zhong-Fang He, Mao-Hua Zheng, Zi-Long Dang, Gang Yang, Yong-Hong Zhang, Ning Lu, Yu-Hui Wei","doi":"10.1159/000525906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000525906","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fusidic acid (FA) had excellent antimicrobial effects due to its unique mechanism of action. Since 1962, FA has been widely used in the systemic and topical treatment of staphylococcal infections and exhibits a well-characterized potency against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci. In view of the spectrum of activity, no cross-resistance with other clinically used antibiotics, and potential penetration into brain tissue, FA was used to treat possible gra-positive bacteria in 3 patients with intracranial infections in the present report. FA and its active metabolite (3-keto FA) were measured in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to assess the treatment of FA, and the results indicated that 1,500 mg per day of FA was sufficient to achieve therapeutic concentrations in both plasma and CSF in intracranial infection patients, while the dosage did not experience unexpected regimen-related toxicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":"68 1","pages":"48-54"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10652785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemotherapyPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-05-07DOI: 10.1159/000530894
Giovanni Gherardi, Pier Luigi Surico, Marco Coassin, Antonio Di Zazzo, Silvia D'Arezzo, Silvia Angeletti, Carla Fontana, Nicola Petrosillo
{"title":"Meningococcal Conjunctivitis in a 54-Year-Old Man: Case Report and Review of the Literature.","authors":"Giovanni Gherardi, Pier Luigi Surico, Marco Coassin, Antonio Di Zazzo, Silvia D'Arezzo, Silvia Angeletti, Carla Fontana, Nicola Petrosillo","doi":"10.1159/000530894","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000530894","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neisseria meningitidis represents an uncommon pathogen of acute bacterial conjunctivitis. In this brief report, we describe a case of meningococcal conjunctivitis in an immunocompetent adult male, with a review of the literature. The patient went to the outpatient ophthalmology clinic complaining of severe ocular discomfort, burning, and redness for more than 2 weeks and, at slit lamp examination, he was diagnosed with a mild conjunctivitis. Microbiology cultures of ocular swabs revealed the growth of colonies, as pure culture, identified as N. meningitidis of serogroup B. A diagnosis of primary meningococcal conjunctivitis was made and treatment of patient with intramuscular injections of ceftriaxone in addition to topical moxifloxacin eye drops for 2 weeks led to clinical improvement and, finally, to a complete recovery, in accordance with microbiological findings. Ophthalmologists must be aware of the possibility of primary meningococcal conjunctivitis cases, even uncommon, and the need to treat with systemic antibiotics and their close contacts with adequate antibiotic chemoprophylaxis.</p>","PeriodicalId":10047,"journal":{"name":"Chemotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"228-232"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9522858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}