Introduction. Modern transplantation and biological therapy methods are associated with a wide range of adverse events and complications. Incidence and variety of neurological complications mostly depend on myelo- and immunosuppression severity and duration as well as on donor's and recipient's characteristics. The most frequent complications involving the nervous system include neurotoxic reactions, infections, autoimmune and lymphoproliferative diseases, and dysmetabolic conditions as well as cerebrovascular complications that potentially affect transplantation outcomes. Objective. To evaluate the impact of post-transplantation cerebrovascular events (CVEs) on transplantation outcomes in patients with hematologic malignancies. Materials and methods. We analyzed 899 transplantations performed at the Raisa Gorbacheva Memorial Research Institute for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology, and Transplantation, Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, from 2016 to 2018. We assessed transplantation parameters and donor's and recipient's characteristics by intergroup comparison, pseudo-randomization (propensity score matching), KaplanMeier survival analysis, and log-rank tests. Results. Post-transplantatively, CVEs developed in 2.6% (n = 23) of cases: 13 (1.4%) ischemic strokes and 11 (1.2%) hemorrhagic strokes or intracranial hemorrhages were diagnosed. CVEs developed on days 99.5 39.2 post hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). There were more patients with non-malignant conditions in the CVE group as compared to the non-CVE group (21.7% vs 7.9%; p = 0.017). Patients with CVE had a significantly lower Karnofsky index (75.6 21.3 vs 85.2 14.9; p = 0.008). Statistically, we also note some non-significant trends: patients with CVE more often underwent allogenic HSCT (82.6% vs 64.0%; p = 0.077) while donors were more often partially (rather than totally) HLA compatible for recipients (39.1% vs 21.1%; p = 0.33). Patients with CVE more often had a history of venous thromboses (13.3% vs 4.2%; p = 0.077). Post-HSCT stroke decreased post-transplantation longevity by approximately 3 times (331.8 81.6 vs 897.9 25.4 post HSCT; p = 0.0001). In the CVE group, survival during first 180 days post HSCT (landmarks post-HSCT Day+60 and Day+180) was significantly lower as compared to that in the CVE-free group. If CVE developed during first 30 days and 100 days post HSCT, vascular catastrophe did not affect post-HSCT survival significantly. Conclusion. Whereas ischemic stroke is a long-term HSCT complication (beyond D+100 post transplantation), hemorrhagic stroke is a short-term complication (D0D+100 post HSCT). CVEs affect survival in patients with hematologic malignancies, especially those developed between D+60 and D+180 post HSCT. History of venous abnormalities, low Karnofsky index at HSCT initiation, and the type of allogenic HSCT, especially from half-matched donors, can be considered as negative outcome risk factors in post-HSCT CVE.

Gap junctional (GJ) intercellular channels are an important way of intercellular communication. Currently, two unrelated families of GJ proteins, innexins/pannexins, and connexins, are known, either or both of which are present in most multicellular animals. A striking exception is the echinoderms which have functional GJs but until recently were believed to be lacking both innexins and connexins, which suggests the presence of the third, yet the unknown family of GJ proteins. In the recent work Welzel and Schuster (Welzel and Schuster, 2022) have reported several putative innexins and one connexin from echinoderms, therefore undermining such a hypothesis. Here we provide evidence showing that all reported connexin and innexin sequences from echinoderms are cross-species contaminations, indicating that a search for a third GJ protein family is still a subject of immediate scientific research interest.

Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in immunocompromised hosts may result in novel variants with changed properties. While escape from humoral immunity certainly contributes to intra-host evolution, escape from cellular immunity is poorly understood. Here, we report a case of long-term COVID-19 in an immunocompromised patient with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma who received treatment with rituximab and lacked neutralizing antibodies. Over the 318 days of the disease, the SARS-CoV-2 genome gained a total of 40 changes, 34 of which were present by the end of the study period. Among the acquired mutations, 12 reduced or prevented the binding of known immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 HLA class I antigens. By experimentally assessing the effect of a subset of the escape mutations, we show that they resulted in a loss of as much as ~1% of effector CD8 T cell response. Our results indicate that CD8 T cell escape represents a major underappreciated contributor to SARS-CoV-2 evolution in humans.

The posttransplant relapse in Ph-positive ALL increases the risk of death. There is an unmet need for instruments to predict the risk of relapse and plan prophylaxis. In this study, we analyzed posttransplant data by machine learning algorithms. Seventy-four Ph-positive ALL patients with a median age of 30 (range 18–55) years who previously underwent allo-HSCT, were retrospectively enrolled. Ninety-three percent of patients received prophylactic/preemptive TKIs after allo-HSCT. The values of the BCR::ABL1 level at serial assessments and over variables were collected in specified intervals after allo-HSCT. They were used to model relapse risk with several machine-learning approaches. GBM proved superior to the other algorithms and provided a maximal AUC score of 0.91. BCR::ABL1 level before and after allo-HSCT, prediction moment, and chronic GvHD had the highest value in the model. It was shown that after Day + 100, both error rates do not exceed 22%, while before D + 100, the model fails to make accurate predictions. As a result, we determined BCR::ABL1 levels at which the relapse risk remains low. Thus, the current BCR::ABL1 level less than 0.06% in patients with chronic GvHD predicts low risk of relapse. At the same time, patients without chronic GVHD after allo-HSCT should be classified as high risk with any level of BCR::ABL1. GBM model with posttransplant laboratory values of BCR::ABL1 provides a high prediction of relapse after allo-HSCT in the era of TKIs prophylaxis. Validation of this approach is warranted.

Apomictic plants (reproducing via asexual seeds), unlike sexual individuals, avoid meiosis and egg cell fertilization. Consequently, apomixis is very important for fixing maternal genotypes in the next plant generations. Despite the progress in the study of apomixis, molecular and genetic regulation of the latter remains poorly understood. So far APOLLO gene encoding aspartate glutamate aspartate aspartate histidine exonuclease is one of the very few described genes associated with apomixis in Boechera species. The centromere-specific histone H3 variant encoded by CENH3 gene is essential for cell division. Mutations in CENH3 disrupt chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis since the attachment of spindle microtubules to a mutated form of the CENH3 histone fails. This paper presents in silico characteristic of APOLLO and CENH3 genes, which may affect apomixis. Furthermore, we characterize the structure of CENH3 by bioinformatic tools, study expression levels of APOLLO and CENH3 transcripts by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction RT-PCR in gynoecium/siliques of the natural diploid apomictic and sexual Boechera species at the stages of meiosis and before and after fertilization. While CENH3 was a single copy gene in all Boechera species, the APOLLO gene have several polymorphic alleles associated with sexual and apomictic reproduction in the Boechera genera. Expression of the APOLLO apo-allele during meiosis was upregulated in gynoecium of apomict B. divaricarpa downregulating after meiosis until the 4th day after pollination (DAP). On the 5th DAP, expression in apomictic siliques increased again. In sexual B. stricta gynoecium and siliques APOLLO apo-allele did not express. Expression of the APOLLO sex-allele during and after meiosis in gynoecium of sexual plants was several times higher than that in apomictic gynoecium. However, after pollination the sex-allele was downregulated in sexual siliques to the level of apomicts and increased sharply on the 5th DAP, while in apomictic siliques it almost did not express. At the meiotic stage, the expression level of CENH3 in the gynoecium of apomicts was two times lower than that of the sexual Boechera, decreasing in both species after meiosis and keep remaining very low in siliques of both species for several days after artificial pollination until the 4th DAP, when the expression level raised in sexual B. stricta siliques exceeding 5 times the level in apomictic B. divaricarpa siliques. We also discuss polymorphism and phylogeny of the APOLLO and CENH3 genes. The results obtained may indicate to a role of the CENH3 and APOLLO genes in the development of apomixis in species of the genus Boechera.

Introduction . COVID-associated coagulopathy is an important pathogenetic factor in the development of new coronavirus infection (NCI) complications. Therefore the use of anticoagulants is considered as one of the fundamental components of the therapy of NCI. The aim of the study was to find the optimal anticoagulant therapy regimen in patients with severe NCI. Materials and methods . The study is retrospective and included an analysis of 947 cases of confirmed NCI. A survival analysis was performed with the construction of Kaplan-Meyer curves in order to assess the effect of a particular anticoagulant therapy regimen on the occurrence of thrombosis, bleeding, and death. In order to exclude the influence of cofounders due to the retrospective nature of the study, the pseudorandomization method («propensity score matching») was used, followed by the re-construction of Kaplan-Meyer curves. Results . Among 947 patients with severe COVID-19, 27 thrombotic events were verified in 24 patients and 44 hemorrhagic incidents in 38 patients. The day of the event, regardless of the choice of the starting point (the onset of the disease or the 1st day of hospitalization) and its nature (thrombosis or bleeding), had no statistical differences (p=0.33 and p=0.12, respectively). The use of a particular anticoagulant therapy regimen did not significantly affect the development of thrombosis, bleeding or death, including the use of the propensity score matching method. Conclusion . Thus, using therapeutic doses of anticoagulants in COVID-19 patients does not give advantages over the use of preventive doses concerning the risk of thrombosis, bleeding and death.

The role of prophylactic TKIs after allogeneic stem cell transplantation in Ph-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains controversial.We performed a retrospective study in 106 adult patients subjected to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) from matched related donors (MRD, 26%), matched unrelated donors (MUD/MMUD, 60%), and haploidentical donors (14%) in complete remission (CR1, 59%), CR2 (14%), and advanced disease (27%).Among them, 60 (57%), received 1 st -or 2 nd -generation TKIs as prophylaxis after allo-HSCT.In multivariate analysis of RFS, the following factors were associated with reduced risk of relapse or death: allo-HSCT after 2012 (HR=0.46,95%CI 0.26-0.83,p=0.009), any MRD status of the disease before allo-HSCT except active disease with relatively similar HR in the context of post-transplant TKI prophylaxis.Allo-HSCT from haploidentical donor was associated with increased risk of relapse or death (HR=2.71,95% CI 1.20-6.13p=0.016).We were unable to demonstrate the significance of chronic GvHD when performing landmark analysis on day+180 and day+270, as based on available data (HR=0.43,95% CI 0.13-1.45, p=0.17 and HR=0.5, p=0.161, respectively), under the conditions of maintaining TKI therapy after allo-HSCT.This relatively large study in unfavorable group of patients confirms an importance of TKIs prophylaxis for adult patients with Ph-positive ALL after allo-HSCT.A larger group of patients is required to formulate strong clinical recommendations in this cohort.

Aim. To conduct a retrospective assessment of the clinical and laboratory data of patients with severe forms of COVID-19 hospitalized in the intensive care and intensive care unit, in order to assess the contribution of various indicators to the likelihood of death. Materials and methods. A retrospective assessment of data on 224 patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit was carried out. The analysis included the data of biochemical, clinical blood tests, coagulograms, indicators of the inflammatory response. When transferring to the intensive care units (ICU), the indicators of the formalized SOFA and APACHE scales were recorded. Anthropometric and demographic data were downloaded separately. Results. Analysis of obtained data, showed that only one demographic feature (age) and a fairly large number of laboratory parameters can serve as possible markers of an unfavorable prognosis. We identified 12 laboratory features the best in terms of prediction: procalcitonin, lymphocytes (absolute value), sodium (ABS), creatinine, lactate (ABS), D-dimer, oxygenation index, direct bilirubin, urea, hemoglobin, C-reactive protein, age, LDH. The combination of these features allows to provide the quality of the forecast at the level of AUC=0.85, while the known scales provided less efficiency (APACHE: AUC=0.78, SOFA: AUC=0.74). Conclusion. Forecasting the outcome of the course of COVID-19 in patients in ICU is relevant not only from the position of adequate distribution of treatment measures, but also from the point of view of understanding the pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of the disease.

Introduction. More than 50,000 haematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCTs) are performed worldwide each year to treat malignant blood cancers, solid tumours, bone marrow aplasia, primary immunodeficiency conditions, autoimmune disorders, and storage disorders. The success of HSCTs depends on many factors, including patient's past medical history. Purpose. To assess the effect of an acute cerebrovascular accident (CVA) that occurred before the HSCT on the transplantation outcome in patients with blood cancer. Materials and methods. We examined the results of 899 transplantations conducted between 2016 and 2018 at the R.M. Gorbacheva Research Institute for Pediatric Oncology, Haematology and Transplantation of the Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University. We analysed transplantation parameters, as well as donor and recipient characteristics. Apart from intergroup comparisons, pseudo-randomization was performed using the Propensity Score Matching method. The survival rate analysis was conducted using the KaplanMeier estimate and the log rank test. Results. Sixteen patients (1.8%) had cerebrovascular events in their past history before the HSCT: ischaemic stroke in 0.4% of cases and haemorrhagic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage in 1.4% of cases. Patients with a history of cerebrovascular events included more people with leukaemia (p = 0.02), had more often received an allogenic transplant (р = 0.01), the donors more often had a partial rather than a full HLA match with the recipient (р = 0.06), had a lower body mass index (р = 0.02), and a lower Karnofsky/Lansky score (р = 0.01) than patients in the control group. The presence of a cardiovascular event had a statistically significant association with reduced overall survival rate of HSCT recipients (р = 0.0012). Conclusion. Patients with blood cancer and stroke preceding the transplantation do not typically have any 'classical' risk factors (diabetes mellitus, venous system disorders, decreased cardiac output, significant atherosclerotic changes in precerebral arteries), therefore, secondary prevention guidelines for CVA during treatment of the main disease may not be effective and cannot be relied on. This article discusses the most likely causes of CVA in patients with blood cancer. A history of CVA before HSCT may have a significant effect on the transplantation outcome, but is not a contraindication for this treatment method. Recipient selection is a very important stage in HSCT planning. A multidisciplinary team should find a balance between the indications and contraindications for performing HSCT from an unrelated donor.

Цель. Сравнительный анализ результатов лечения миелофиброза руксолитинибом либо руксолитинибом с последующей трансплантацией аллогенных гемопоэтических стволовых клеток (аллоТГСК), а также оценка эффективности применения руксолитиниба в пред- и посттрансплантационный периоды. Материалы и методы. В исследование включено 78 пациентов с миелофиброзом, которые направлялись в НИИ ДОГиТ им. Р.М. Горбачевой для определения показаний к проведению аллоТГСК. АллоТГСК выполнена у 33 больных, в т. ч. у 32 с предтрансплантационной подготовкой руксолитинибом (группа руксолитиниба + аллоТГСК). Использовался режим кондиционирования cо сниженной интенсивностью доз (флударабин 180 мг/м2, бусульфан 10 мг/кг). Профилактика реакции «трансплантат против хозяина» (РТПХ) включала циклофосфамид 50 мг/кг в Д+3, Д+4, руксолитиниб 10 мг/сут в Д+5–Д+100 (n = 31), кроличий антитимоцитарный глобулин, такролимус и микофенолата мофетил (n = 2). Терапия руксолитинибом без аллоТГСК использовалась у 45 больных (группа руксолитиниба). Статистически значимых различий по полу, возрасту, диагнозу и молекулярно-генетическому варианту между группами не наблюдалось. Результаты. Медиана длительности терапии в группе руксолитиниба составила 16 мес. (диапазон 2–78 мес.). У 2 (4 %) пациентов получен частичный ответ, у 8 (20 %) — клиническое улучшение (КУ), у 16 (39 %) — зафиксирована стабилизация (СЗ), у 15 (37 %) — прогрессирование (ПЗ). У 8 (20 %) больных удалось достичь уменьшения размеров селезенки по сравнению с исходными, у 16 (39 %) — уменьшения симптомов заболевания. Кумулятивная 3-летняя частота прогрессирования составила 44 % (95%-й доверительный интервал [95% ДИ] 27–60 %). В группе руксолитиниба + аллоТГСК медиана длительности терапии руксолитинибом составила 7 мес. (диапазон 3–22 мес.). В 9 (28 %) случаях наблюдалось КУ, в 17 (53 %) — С3, в 6 (19 %) — ПЗ. Острая РТПХ II–IV степени зарегистрирована у 5 (20 %) пациентов, острая РТПХ III–IV степени — у 3 (12 %), хроническая РТПХ средней степени тяжести — у 6 (24 %). Летальность, не связанная с рецидивом, в течение 1-го года составила 28 % (95% ДИ 14–44 %). Кумулятивная 3-летняя частота рецидивов в группе руксолитиниба + аллоТГСК была 12 % (95% ДИ 3–28 %). 3-летняя общая выживаемость пациентов с аллоТГСК по результатам ландмарк-анализа за 6 мес. от даты обращения в центр составила 80 %, тогда как в группе руксолитиниба — 41 % (p = 0,022); за 12 мес. — 77 и 43 % (p = 0,028), за 18 мес. — 86 и 46 % (p = 0,015) в этих группах соответственно. Заключение. Несмотря на эффективность терапии ингибитором JAK1/2 руксолитинибом, риск прогрессирования миелофиброза остается существенным. В связи с этим требуется своевременное решение вопроса о выполнении аллоТГСК у пациентов с промежуточным-2 и высоким риском по DIPSS.

Aim. To comparatively analyze myelofibrosis treatment outcomes with the use of ruxolitinib versus ruxolitinib with subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) as well as to assess the efficacy of ruxolitinib in pre- and post-transplantation periods. Materials & Methods. The study enrolled 78 myelofibrosis patients who were referred to the RM Gorbacheva Scientific Research Institute to determine the indications for allo-HSCT. Allo-HSCT was performed in 33 patients, among them 32 patients with ruxolitinib pre-conditioning (ruxolitinib + allo-HSCT group). They received reduced intensity conditioning (fludarabine 180 mg/m2 and busulfan 10 mg/kg). Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis included cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg on Day +3 and Day +4, ruxolitinib 10 mg per day from Day +5 to Day +100 (n = 31), rabbit antithymocyte globulin, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil (n = 2). Ruxolitinib without allo-HSCT was administered to 45 patients (ruxolitinib group). Between the groups there were no significant differences with respect to gender, age, diagnosis, and molecular genetic variant. Results. Median therapy duration in ruxolitinib group was 16 months (range 2-78 months). In 2 (4 %) patients partial response was achieved, 8 (20 %) patients showed clinical improvement, in 16 (39 %) patients stable disease (SD) was reported, in 15 (37 %) patients disease progression (DP) was detected. The treatment succeeded in reducing the spleen size in 8 (20 %) patients and in relieving disease symptoms in 16 (39 %) patients. Cumulative incidence of progression within 3 years was 44 % (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 27-60 %). In ruxolitinib + allo-HSCT group median ruxolitinib therapy duration was 7 months (range 3-22 months). As a result, clinical improvement in 9 (28 %) cases, SD in 17 cases (53 %), and DP in 6 (19 %) cases were observed. In 5 (20 %) patients acute GVHD of grade 2-4, in 3 (12 %) patients acute GVHD of grade 3-4, and in 6 (24 %) patients chronic medium severity GVHD were identified. Within 1 year nonrelapse mortality was 28 % (95% CI 14-44 %). The 3-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 12 % (95% CI 3-28 %) in ruxolitinib + allo-HSCT group. According to the landmark analysis performed throughout 6 months from the first visit to the center, the 3-year overall survival in the group with allo-HSCT was 80 %, whereas in ruxolitinib group it was 41 % (p = 0.022), 12-month landmark analysis resulted in 77 % and 43 % (p = 0.028), and 18-month landmark analysis showed 86 % and 46 % (p = 0.015) in two groups, respectively. Conclusion. Despite the efficacy of JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib, the risk of myelofibrosis progression is not to be underestimated. Therefore, in DIPSS intermediate-2 and high-risk patients the issue about performing allo-HSCT should be promptly clarified.

Purpose: The aim of this research is to develop an accurate and interpretable aggregated score not only for hospitalization outcome prediction (death/discharge) but also for the daily assessment of the COVID-19 patient's condition. Patients and Methods: In this single-center cohort study, real-world data collected within the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic was used (27.04.2020–03.08.2020 and 01.11.2020–19.01.2021, respectively). The first wave data (1,349 cases) was used as a training set for the score development, while the second wave data (1,453 cases) was used as a validation set. No overlapping cases were presented in the study. For all the available patients' features, we tested their association with an outcome. Significant features were taken for further analysis, and their partial sensitivity, specificity, and promptness were estimated. Sensitivity and specificity were further combined into a feature informativeness index. The developed score was derived as a weighted sum of nine features that showed the best trade-off between informativeness and promptness. Results: Based on the training cohort (median age ± median absolute deviation 58 ± 13.3, females 55.7%), the following resulting score was derived: APTT (4 points), CRP (3 points), D-dimer (4 points), glucose (4 points), hemoglobin (3 points), lymphocytes (3 points), total protein (6 points), urea (5 points), and WBC (4 points). Internal and temporal validation based on the second wave cohort (age 60 ± 14.8, females 51.8%) showed that a sensitivity and a specificity over 90% may be achieved with an expected prediction range of more than 7 days. Moreover, we demonstrated high robustness of the score to the varying peculiarities of the pandemic. Conclusions: An extensive application of the score during the pandemic showed its potential for optimization of patient management as well as improvement of medical staff attentiveness in a high workload stress. The transparent structure of the score, as well as tractable cutoff bounds, simplified its implementation into clinical practice. High cumulative informativeness of the nine score components suggests that these are the indicators that need to be monitored regularly during the follow-up of a patient with COVID-19.

A number of sequencing studies identified the prognostic impact of somatic mutations in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However the majority of them focused on methylation regulation, apoptosis and proliferation genes. Despite the number of experimental studies published on the role of micro-RNA processing and checkpoint genes in the development of MDS, the clinical data about mutational landscape in these genes is limited. We performed a pilot study which evaluated mutational burden in these genes and their association with common MDS mutations. High prevalence of mutations was observed in the genes studied: 54% had mutations in DICER1, 46% had mutations in LAG3, 20% in CTLA4, 23% in B7-H3, 17% in DROSHA, 14% in PD-1 and 3% in PD-1L. Cluster analysis that included these mutations along with mutations in ASXL1, DNMT3A, EZH2, IDH1, RUNX1, SF3B1, SRSF2, TET2 and TP53 effectively predicted overall survival in the study group (HR 4.2, 95%CI 1.3-13.6, p = 0.016). The study results create the rational for incorporating micro-RNA processing and checkpoint genes in the sequencing panels for MDS and evaluate their role in the multicenter studies.

To improve the results of treatment of severe hemophilia in children, the efficiency and safety of the use of venous catheter ports in patients of this group has been analyzed. The problem of optimizing vascular access in hemophilia, especially young patients, remains relevant, despite the emergence of drugs with a subcutaneous route of administration. In global clinical practice, implantable permanent venous access devices (IVAD) have been successfully used for a long time to initiate preventive therapy or to conduct immune tolerance therapy when detecting inhibitor to coagulation factor VIII as early as possible. In Russia, this experience is still local and not reflected in the literature. Materials and methods of research: a single-center retrospective uncontrolled non-randomized study was performed. In a total of 19 patients (100% boys) between the age of 1 and 8 years (median 2 years [1; 6]) have been installed 21 IVADs. The observation period ranged from 200 to 1,897 days, with a total number of 17,484 catheter days in the group. Results: a statistically significant decrease in the number of hemorrhages requiring treatment per year (p<0,001) has been observed in the general group of patients following the implantation of IVAD and the optimum treatment. The incidence of infectious complications was 0,22 per 1000 catheter days with no other complications recorded. Conclusion: the results of the presented case report demonstrate that the use of a port-type IVAD to ensure adequate vascular access in young children with severe hemophilia with a high degree of safety significantly increases the effectiveness of substitution/hemostatic therapy.

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the medical community needs an accurate and interpretable aggregated score not only for an outcome prediction but also for a daily patient’s condition assessment. Due to a continuously changing pandemic landscape, robustness becomes a crucial additional requirement for the score.In this research, real-world data collected within the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic was used. The first wave data (1349 cases collected from 27.04.2020 to 03.08.2020) was used as a training set for the score development, while the second wave data (1453 cases collected from 01.11.2020 to 19.01.2021) was used as a validating set. For all the available patients’ features we tested their association with an outcome using robust linear regression. Statistically significant features were taken to the further analysis for each of which their partial sensitivity, specificity and promptness were estimated. The sensitivity and the specificity were further combined into a feature informativeness index.The developed score was derived as a weighted sum of the following 9 features showed the best trade-off between informativeness and promptness: APTT (> 42 sec, 4 points), CRP (> 146 mg/L, 3 points), D-dimer (> 2149 mkg/L, 4 points), Glucose (> 9 mmol/L, 4 points), Hemoglobin (< 115 g/L, 3 points), Lymphocytes (< 0,7*10^9/L, 3 points), Total protein (< 61 g/L, 6 points), Urea (> 11 mmol/L, 5 points) and WBC (> 13,5*10^9/L, 4 points). Thus, the proposed score ranges between 0 and 36 points. Internal and temporal validation showed that sensitivity and specificity over 90% may be achieved with an expected prediction range >7 days. Moreover, we demonstrated a high robustness of the score to the varying peculiarities of the pandemic. For the additional simplicity of application we split the full range of the score into five grades delimited with 9, 14, 19 and 24 points which determine expected death:discharge odds 1:100, 1:25, 1:5 and 1:1 correspondingly.An extensive application of the score within the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic showed its potential for the optimization of patients management as well as improvement of medical staff attentiveness during high workload stress. The transparent structure of the score, as well as tractable cut-off bounds, simplified its implementation into clinical practice.

Over last years, an important role of altered gut microbiota and its potential correction was suggested for pediatric cancer and autoimmune disorders.The data from last decade highlight sufficient influence of the main classes of gut bacteria (Firmicutes and Bacteroides) upon development of immune response in oncological disorders and autoagressive conditions, as well as role of their imbalance and its correction using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) approach.Our previous studies have shown a pronounced clinical effect of FMT, mostly, in adult patients with severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).The aim of this article was to present our own experience of FMT in children with intestinal form of GVHD resistant to conventional treatment.Materials and methods.A prospective single-center study included 7 patients aged from 3 to 10 years with severe intestinal GVHD developed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Clinical effects of FMT were evaluated by conventional scales during 120 days after the procedure.Time-dependent changes of fecal microbiota were assayed, mainly, by the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test-system.Results.We present our own experience of FMT in 7 children with intestinal GVHD and antibiotic-resistant colitis.Complete or partial response to the GVHD treatment was achieved in 6 cases (86%) by 120 days, in absence of serious adverse events following FMT.Since day +8 after TFM, increased amounts of B. fragilis gr., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and E. coli were registered in fecal microbiota (р< 0.048, р< 0.001, and р<0.048, respectively), in absence of differences for Bifidobacterium spp and Lactobacillus spp. ConclusionCombined therapy with immunosuppressive agents and FMT procedure in the patients with intestinal GVHD resistant to standard therapy is associated with pronounced clinical responses correlating with distinct changes of intestinal microbiota, with acceptable safety profile.

PURPOSE:The COVID-19 pandemic showed an urgent need for decision support systems to help doctors at a time of stress and uncertainty. However, significant differences in hospital conditions, as well as skepticism of doctors about machine learning algorithms, limit their introduction into clinical practice. Our goal was to test and apply the principle of "patient-like-mine" decision support in rapidly changing conditions of a pandemic. METHODS:In the developed system we implemented a fuzzy search that allows a doctor to compare their medical case with similar cases recorded in their medical center since the beginning of the pandemic. Various distance metrics were tried for obtaining clinically relevant search results. With the use of R programming language, we designed the first version of the system in approximately a week. A set of features for the comparison of the cases was selected with the use of random forest algorithm implemented in Caret. Shiny package was chosen for the design of GUI. RESULTS:The deployed tool allowed doctors to quickly estimate the current conditions of their patients by means of studying the most similar previous cases stored in the local health information system. The extensive testing of the system during the first wave of COVID-19 showed that this approach helps not only to draw a conclusion about the optimal treatment tactics and to train medical staff in real-time but also to optimize patients' individual testing plans. CONCLUSIONS:This project points to the possibility of rapid prototyping and effective usage of "patient-like-mine" search systems at the time of a pandemic caused by a poorly known pathogen.