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COVID-19 in adult acute myeloid leukemia patients: A long-term followup study from the European Hematology Association survey (EPICOVIDEHA)

  • Francesco Marchesi
  • , Jon Salmanton-García
  • , Ziad Emarah
  • , Klára Piukovics
  • , Marcio Nucci
  • , Alberto López-García
  • , Zdeněk Ráčil
  • , Francesca Farina
  • , Marina Popova
  • , Natasha Bahadur Ali

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at high risk of mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The optimal management of AML patients with COVID-19 has not been established. Our multicenter study included 388 adult AML patients with COVID-19 diagnosis between February 2020 and October 2021. The vast majority were receiving or had received AML treatment in the prior 3 months. COVID-19 was severe in 41.2% and critical in 21.1% of cases. The chemotherapeutic schedule was modified in 174 patients (44.8%), delayed in 68 and permanently discontinued in 106. After a median follow-up of 325 days, 180 patients (46.4%) had died; death was attributed to COVID-19 (43.3%), AML (26.1%) or to a combination of both (26.7%), whereas in 3.9% of cases the reason was unknown. Active disease, older age, and treatment discontinuation were associated with death, whereas AML treatment delay was protective. Seventy-nine patients had a simultaneous AML and COVID-19 diagnosis, with an improved survival when AML treatment could be delayed (80%; p.

Original languageUndefined/Unknown
JournalHaematologica
Publication statusPublished - 12 May 2022

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