Page 263 - Haematologica Vol. 107 - September 2022

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
can American, in the study and control groups, respect- ively. MM was the most common indication for auto-HSCT comprising 34 (79.1%) and 33 (76.1%) patients in the study and control groups, respectively.
Table 2 outlines patient outcomes. Admission mortality did not differ significantly between the groups, with only one death in the control group (P=0.083). The length of stay was comparable at 18 (range, 17-22) days and 19 (range, 16-20) days (P=0.2) for study and control groups, respectively. Time to WBC engraftment in the study group was 12 (range, 11-12) days and 11 (range, 11-12) days in the control group (P=0.032). Time to platelet engraftment in the study group was 14 (range, 12-15) days and 12 (range, 11-14) days in the control group (P=0.014). Although time to both WBC and platelet engraftment was significantly
Table 2. Outcomes.
longer in the study group, the clinical significance of this finding is questionable, especially as it did not signifi- cantly prolong length of stay. There was no significant dif- ference between incidence of neutropenic fever, or between incidence of positive blood cultures in patients with neutropenic fever. There was a non-statistically sig- nificant increase in the rate of ICU admissions in the study (4/43) versus control group (0/43) (P=0.12). The 30-day re- hospitalization rate was comparable between the two groups (P=0.68).
In the study group, two patients died within 1 year of ASCT (day +360 and +133) translating into 1-year mortality of 4.9% (2/41). Five-year survival was 53.8% (14/26). In the control group, one patient died on day +26 of ASCT trans- lating into 1-year mortality of 2.8% (1/36). Five-year sur-
Study
Control
P value
Admission mortality, N (%) Minority
Non-minority
0 0 0
1 (2.3) 0 1/1
0.083
LOS - days, median (IQR) Minority
Non-minority
18 (17-22)
18 (16-20.5) 19.5 (17.75-28.25)
19 (16-20) 17 (16.3-20) 18 (16-19)
0.2
Days to WBC engraftment, median (IQR) Minority
Non-minority
12 (11-12)
12 (11-12) 12 (12-12.3)
11 (11-12) 11 (11-12) 11 (10-12)
0.032
Days to Plt engraftment, median (IQR) Minority
Non-minority
14 (12-15) 13.5 (12-15) 15 (14-22.8)
12 (11-14) 13 (11.5-14) 12 (11-13)
0.014
Neutropenic fever, N (%) Positive blood culture, N (%*) Minority
Non-minority
22 (51.2) 7 (31.8) 17/35 5/8
27 (62.8) 11 (40.7) 15/26 12/1
0.38 0.56
ICU admission, N (%) Minority
Non-minority
4 (9.3) 4/35 0/8
0 0 0
0.12
30-day readmission, N (%) Minority
Non-minority
4 (9.3) 3/35 1/8
2 (4.8) 1/25 1/17
0.68
1-year survival, N (%)** Minority
Non-minority
39/41 (95.1) 32/33 7/8
35/36 (97.2) 21/22 14/14
1
5-year survival, N (%)*** Minority
Non-minority
14/26 (53.8) 13/22 1/4
13/24 (54.2) 9/15
4/9
1
LOS: length of stay; WBC: white blood cells; Plt: platelets; ICU: intensive care unit; ASCT: autologous stem cell transplant. Minority subgroup includes African American and Spanish/Hispanic/Latino patients. *Percent of those with neutropenic fever. **Only includes patients with transplant >1 year ago and with follow-up after 1 year post-ASCT. Study group: 2 patients were excluded from analysis: 1 patient was lost to follow-up prior to the 1 year mark and 1 patient had ASCT <1 year ago. Control group: 7 patients were excluded from analysis: 5 patients were lost to follow-up prior to the 1 year mark and 2 patients had ASCT <1 year ago. ***Only includes patients with ASCT >5 years ago and with follow-up after 5 years post ASCT. Study group: 17 patients excluded from analysis: 6 patients were lost to follow up prior to the 5 year post ASCT follow-up; 11 patients had ASCT <5 years ago. Control group: 19 patients were excluded from analysis: 8 patients were lost to follow- up prior to the 5 year post ASCT follow up; 11 patients had ASCT <5 years ago.
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