Background Up to 70% of patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplant develop oral mucositis as a side effect of high-dose melphalan conditioning chemotherapy. Oral cryotherapy has been documented to be potentially effective in reducing oral mucositis. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the cryotherapy protocol implemented within the hematopoietic stem cell transplant program. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted of adult multiple myeloma patients who received high-dose melphalan conditioning therapy for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Primary endpoints were incidence and severity of oral mucositis. Secondary endpoints included duration of oral mucositis, duration of hospital stay, parenteral narcotics use and total parenteral nutrition use. Results One hundred and forty patients were included in the study, 70 patients in both no cryotherapy and cryotherapy groups. Both oral mucositis incidence and severity were found to be significantly lower in the cryotherapy group. Fifty (71.4%) experienced mucositis post cryotherapy compared to 67 (95.7%) in the no cryotherapy group (p < 0.001). The median oral mucositis severity, assessed using the WHO oral toxicity scale from grade 0-4, experienced in the no group was 2.5 vs. 2 in the cryotherapy group (p = 0.03). Oral mucositis duration and use of parenteral narcotics were also significantly reduced. Duration of hospital stay and use of parenteral nutrition were similar between the two groups. Conclusion The cryotherapy protocol resulted in a significantly lower incidence and severity of oral mucositis. These results provide evidence for the continued use of oral cryotherapy, an inexpensive and generally well-tolerated practice.

PURPOSE Evidence regarding red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practices and their impact on hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcomes are poorly understood. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a noninferiority randomized controlled trial in four different centers that evaluated patients with hematologic malignancies requiring HCT who were randomly assigned to either a restrictive (hemoglobin [Hb] threshold < 70 g/L) or liberal (Hb threshold < 90 g/L) RBC transfusion strategy between day 0 and day 100. The noninferiority margin corresponds to a 12% absolute difference between groups in Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT) score relative to baseline. The primary outcome was health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measured by FACT-BMT score at day 100. Additional end points were collected: HRQOL by FACT-BMT score at baseline and at days 7, 14, 28, 60, and 100; transplantation-related mortality; length of hospital stay; intensive care unit admissions; acute graft-versus-host disease; Bearman toxicity score; sinusoidal obstruction syndrome; serious infections; WHO Bleeding Scale; transfusion requirements; and reactions to therapy. RESULTS A total of 300 patients were randomly assigned to either restrictive-strategy or liberal-strategy treatment groups between 2011 and 2016 at four Canadian adult HCT centers. After HCT, mean pre-transfusion Hb levels were 70.9 g/L in the restrictive-strategy group and 84.6 g/L in the liberal-strategy group ( P < .0001). The number of RBC units transfused was lower in the restrictive-strategy group than in the liberal-strategy group (mean, 2.73 units [standard deviation, 4.81 units] v 5.02 units [standard deviation, 6.13 units]; P = .0004). After adjusting for transfusion type and baseline FACT-BMT score, the restrictive-strategy group had a higher FACT-BMT score at day 100 (difference of 1.6 points; 95% CI, −2.5 to 5.6 points), which was noninferior compared with that of the liberal-strategy group. There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes between the transfusion strategies. CONCLUSION In patients undergoing HCT, the use of a restrictive RBC transfusion strategy threshold of 70 g/L was as effective as a threshold of 90 g/L and resulted in similar HRQOL and HCT outcomes with fewer transfusions.

Prescribing oral levofloxacin post-consolidation chemotherapy in AML patients is associated with a reduction in febrile neutropenia. Further research is required to identify the impact on fluoroquinolone resistance and risk of CDAD.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are rare, yet potentially life-threatening, disorders caused by overproliferation of bone marrow stem cells. The symptom burden experienced by patients with the BCR-ABL1-negative MPNs (also referred to as the classical MPNs, i.e., essential thrombocythemia [ET], polycythemia vera [PV] and myelofibrosis [MF]) can be significant and can negatively impact quality of life (QOL). Since patients with these MPNs can live for several years, thereby requiring long-term treatment and follow-up, nurses play an essential role in communicating with these patients, assessing their symptoms, and educating them on treatments and self-management strategies that can reduce their symptom burden. This article, which is the first of a two-part series, was developed to provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with a review of the diagnosis and treatment of the most common classical MPNs. The second article in this series (also available in this issue) will provide nurses with practical guidance for managing the symptom burden associated with MPNs in order to help enhance the overall health and well-being of patients living with these disorders.

Background A twice-weekly galactomannan (gm) screening protocol was implemented in high-risk hematology