The risk for COVID-19 hospitalization is low in adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), but these individuals have a high mortality risk, according to a study published online Oct. 16 in Frontiers in Oncology . Barath Prashanth Sivasubramanian, M.
D., from the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, and colleagues investigated mortality among AML and MDS patients with COVID-19. The analysis included data from 28,028 AML admissions and 28,148 MDS admissions identified from the National Inpatient Sample (2020 to 2021).
The researchers found that 1.2% of AML patients were admitted for COVID-19, and the AML-COVID-19 cohort had a lower hospitalization risk (adjusted odds ratio, 0.3) and higher mortality (21.
7 versus 8.7%) versus AML patients admitted for other causes. Following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), AML patients had a higher risk for COVID-19 (20.
2 versus 9.8%) and increased mortality (19.1 versus 6.
7%) versus other causes. Among MDS patients, 2.7% were admitted for COVID-19, with the MDS-COVID-19 cohort having a lower hospitalization risk (adjusted odds ratio, 0.
59) and higher mortality (19.6 versus 6.6%) versus other causes.
HSCT did not alter the risk for COVID-19 hospitalizations in MDS patients (3 versus 3.9%), but these patients had higher mortality (17.4 versus 5.
1%). "These findings underscore the need for close monitoring and implementation of preventive strategies," the authors write. More information.
