No abstract

Acute bleeding after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was investigated in 1,402 patients receiving transplants at Johns Hopkins Hospital between January 1, 1986 and June 30, 1995. Bleeding categorization was based on daily scores of intensity used by the blood transfusion service. Moderate and severe episodes were analyzed for bleeding sites. Analysis of the cause of death and the interval of the bleeding episode to outcome endpoints was recorded. Survival estimates were computed for 1,353 BMT patients. The overall incidence was 34%. Minor bleeding was seen in 10.6%, moderate bleeding was seen in 11.3%, and severe bleeding was seen in 12% of all patients. Fourteen percent of patients had moderate or severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage, 6.4% had moderate or severe hemorrhagic cystitis, 2.8% had pulmonary hemorrhage, and 2% had intracranial hemorrhage. Sixty-one percent had 1 bleeding site and 34.4% had more than 1 site. Moderate and severe bleeding was more prevalent in allogeneic (31%) and unrelated patients (62.5%) compared with autologous patients (18.5%). Significant distribution of incidence was found among the different diagnoses, but not by disease status in acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bleeding was associated with significantly reduced survival in allogeneic, autologous, and unrelated BMT and in each disease category except multiple myeloma. Survival was correlated with the bleeding intensity, bleeding site, and the number of sites. Although close temporal association was evident to mortality, bleeding was recorded as the cause of death in only the minority of cases compared with other toxicities after BMT (graft-versus-host disease, infections, and preparative regimen toxicity). Acute bleeding is a common complication after BMT that is profoundly associated with morbidity and mortality. Although bleeding was not a direct cause of death in the majority of cases, it has a potential prognostic implication as a predictor of poor outcome in clinical assessment of patients after BMT.

Our results support an association of bleeding with acute GVHD, suggesting that GVHD is a risk factor for bleeding after BMT. The occurrence of bleeding clearly identified poor outcome subgroup within GVHD, suggesting further evaluation for clinical application of bleeding in the assessment of GVHD severity.

Summary Side‐effects directly due to the nasal mask are common in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) commencing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Recently, nasal pillows have been designed to overcome these issues. Limited evidence exists of the benefits and effectiveness of these devices. Twenty‐one patients (19 male, 49 ± 10 years) with the established diagnosis of OSAS [apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI): 52 ± 22] and who had a successful CPAP titration were commenced on CPAP therapy (10 ± 2 cmH2O), and randomized to 4 weeks of a nasal pillow (P) and a standard nasal mask (M) in a crossover design. Outcome measures were objective compliance, AHI, quality of life, Epworth Sleepiness Score (ESS) and CPAP side‐effects. There was no difference in compliance (M versus P: 5.1 ± 1.9 h versus 5.0 ± 1.7 h; P = 0.701) and AHI (2.6 ± 2.7 versus 3.0 ± 2.9; P = 0.509). Quality of life and ESS improved with CPAP, but there was no difference in the extent of improvement between both devices. Usage of nasal pillows resulted in less reported pressure on the face and more subjects found the nasal pillow the more comfortable device. However, there was no clear overall preference for either device at the end of the study (mask = 57%, pillow = 43%; P = 0.513). The applied CPAP pressure did not correlate with compliance, AHI and ESS. Furthermore, no differences in outcome parameters were noted comparing groups with CPAP pressure <10 and ≥10 cm H2O. Nasal pillows are equally effective in CPAP therapy, but do not generally lead to improved compliance.

No abstract