The outcomes of this study strongly suggest that primary video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for evacuation of parapneumonic effusions is superior to conventional thoracostomy drainage.

BACKGROUND. The aim of this study was to determine whether antibiotic prophylaxis during periods of neutropenia reduced streptococcal (S. viridans) sepsis and overall bacterial sepsis. METHODS. The authors reviewed outcomes of 78 evaluable patients who were consecutively treated for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from October 2002 through January 2007. Several successive prophylactic antibiotic regimens were used. All patients received antifungal prophylaxis with oral voriconazole. RESULTS. Oral cephalosporins did not significantly reduce the odds of bacterial sepsis (P = .81) or streptococcal (S. viridans) sepsis (P = .90) relative to no prophylaxis. Intravenous (iv) cefepime completely prevented streptococcal (S. viridans) sepsis and reduced the odds of bacterial sepsis 91% (P < .0001) relative to no prophylaxis, but resistant gram‐negative bacteria emerged in 2 patients. Vancomycin with oral ciprofloxacin or a cephalosporin reduced the odds of bacterial sepsis by 93% (P < .0001) and streptococcal (S. viridans) sepsis by 99% (P < .0001). The fungal infection rate did not differ significantly between patients who did and did not receive antibiotic prophylaxis (1.0 per 1000 patient‐days for both groups). The observed reduction in average hospital days per chemotherapy course for patients given vancomycin regimens or cefepime was 5.7 (P < .0001) and 4.1 (P = .0039) days, respectively. No reduction was observed with oral cephalosporins (P = .10). Furthermore, vancomycin regimens or cefepime were associated with a 20% reduction in healthcare charges (P = .0015) relative to using no antibiotics. One patient, who was on oral cefuroxime alone, died of septicemia. CONCLUSIONS. Prophylaxis with intravenous cefepime or a vancomycin regimen, and voriconazole, reduced morbidity in children with AML, and resulted indramatic decreases in the incidence of septicemia and hospitalization days. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.

Background Chronic health conditions are common among long-term childhood cancer survivors, but hospitalization rates have not been reported. The objective of this study was to determine overall and cause-specific hospitalization rates among survivors of childhood cancer and compare rates to the U.S. population. Procedure The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) is a retrospective cohort of 5+ year survivors of childhood malignancies treated at 26 participating centers. Self-reported hospitalizations from 10,366 survivors (diagnosed 1970–1986) were compared to U.S. population rates using age-and sex-stratified standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Reasons for hospitalization were evaluated and associations between demographic, cancer and treatment-related risk factors with hospitalization were investigated. Results Survivors were, on average, 20.9 years from cancer diagnosis (SD: 4.6, range: 13–32) and 28.6 years of age (SD: 7.7, range: 13–51). Survivor hospitalization rates were 1.6 times the U.S. population (95% CI: 1.6; 1.7). Increased hospitalization rates were noted irrespective of gender, age at follow-up and cancer diagnosis, with highest SIRs noted among male (SIR=2.6, 95% CI: 2.2; 3.0) and female (SIR=2.7, 95% CI: 2.4; 3.1) survivors aged 45–54. Female gender, an existing chronic health condition and/or a second neoplasm, and prior treatment with radiation were associated with an increased risk of non-obstetrical hospitalization. Conclusions Survivors of childhood cancer demonstrate substantially higher hospitalization rates. Additional research is needed to further quantify the healthcare utilization and economic impact of treatment-related complications as this population ages.

Transfusion requirements in scoliosis patients are dependent on blood loss as determined by Cobb angles and number of segments fused relative to the patients' blood volume as determined by weight. Implementation of a blood management protocol resulted in a low transfusion rate and unexpectedly led to the preoperative diagnosis of a number of patients with low levels of von Willebrand activity.