Joseph Sassine

Infectious Complications of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy and Bispecific Antibodies – A Review Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has shifted the therapeutic landscape of hematological malignancies in the last decade, and bispecific antibodies (BsAb) are an emerging treatment for th...

Also out now in American Journal of Medical Sciences, our review of infectious complications of CAR T and BsAb, led by @ou.edu ID fellow Bradley Dye, a good primer for trainees and faculty alike!

#TxID #IDSky

www.amjmedsci.org/article/S000...

2. Follow up BCx are low yield in this population ➡️ Keeping a restriction on follow up BCx is a reasonable diagnostic stewardship measure, even in patients with febrile neutropenia

We restricted BCx to 1 set per 48 hours and compared to the pre-restriction period in patients with febrile neutropenia.
Our findings:
1. Positivity rate not statistically different between both periods but diagnostic yield increased with a higher number of initial BCx sets

Out now in @ichejournal.bsky.social , with @ritawilson.bsky.social and others, our report on the blood culture bottle shortage last year affecting the diagnostic yield in febrile neutropenia
@ou.edu
#TxID #IDSky

doi.org/10.1017/ice....

Incidence and risk factors for musculoskeletal adverse effects associated with daptomycin in patients receiving outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy | Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology | Cambridge Core Incidence and risk factors for musculoskeletal adverse effects associated with daptomycin in patients receiving outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy - Volume 5 Issue 1

@bryanpwhite.bsky.social et al: In a cohort (n=127) of OPAT patients on daptomycin 7.4 mg/kg for an average of 37 days, the rate of CK elevation was 11.8% at a median of 13 days (IQR 9-16) supporting weekly lab monitoring on daptomycin for OPAT. doi.org/10.1017/ash....

This study offers real-world data evaluating the ePlex BCID-FP rapid identification system for yeast and found it was less sensitive than previously reported and infrequently led to de-escalation of antifungals
doi.org/10.1093/jaca...
@josephsassinemd.bsky.social #JACAMRNews #IDSKy

ID fellowship applicants, make sure to check out our program @ou.edu:
2 year clinical program - 3 tracks (TxID, hosp epi, trop med) - Path for crit care fellowship - 12 credit certificates in year 2

#TxID #IDSky #MedEd

medicine.ouhsc.edu/academic-dep...

We don’t, because this panel is meant to identify fungi on blood culture specimens exclusively.

Evaluation of a rapid identification panel for fungemia Abstract. Bloodstream infections due to yeast are associated with a high mortality rate. There is a lack of data that evaluate the real-world sensitivity o

Out now in @jac-amr.bsky.social, our real world analysis of BCID fungal panel for diagnosis of fungemia, led by the great Emily Siegrist - Sensitivity of 94%, lower than anticipated
@bryanpwhite.bsky.social @ritawilson.bsky.social
#IDSky
academic.oup.com/jacamr/artic...

And part 2 is out now: How to prevent travel-related infections in the transplant recipient, check it out!
@ritawilson.bsky.social @andhen25.bsky.social
#IDSky #TxID

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Invasive fusariosis after CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy | ASM Case Reports Invasive fusariosis is a rare entity that primarily affects patients with hematological malignancies and recipients of hematopoietic cell transplants. Cases of mold infections in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy recipients have seldom been reported (1–6). We herein present this case of invasive fusariosis managed with combination antifungal therapy. Additionally, we provide a succinct review of cases reported in existing literature.

Invasive fusariosis after CAR T is rare but can be consequential. Here’s our case of cutaneous fusariosis after CD19 CAR T, with @ritawilson.bsky.social @ouholter.bsky.social and others, out in @asm.org Case Reports!
#TxID

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Had a great time in Syracuse presenting Medicine Grand Rounds earlier today on Infections after CAR T at SUNY Upstate and meeting some great ID colleagues there!
#TxID

These tracks were only possible thanks to the diverse expertise of our faculty (physicians & pharmacists), support from our section chief, close collaboration with BMT, SOT, PCCM!
@bryanpwhite.bsky.social @ritawilson.bsky.social

4. ID/critical care track
- 2 years of ID fellowship with a pathway for 3rd year in critical care medicine
- Close collaboration with PCCM division
- Travel to ID or CCM conferences
- We cover certificate in healthcare admin, population health or clinical/translational science

3. Trop Med/Global Health Track
- 8 months of research
- 1 month international rotation
- Travel to trop med conferences
- Year 2 clinic - Travel medicine, refugee health
- We cover one of the above certificates or trop med diploma from ASTM&H or ISTM

2. Hospital epi/Healthcare admin Track
- 2 months of ASP, IP and OPAT rotations
- Year 2 clinic - General ID, OPAT clinics
- 7 months of research/QI
- Travel to ASP/IP conferences
- We cover certificate in healthcare admin, population health or clinical/translational science

1. TxID Track
- 10 months of TxID inpatient consults
- 1 month of inpatient BMT & SOT
- Year 2 clinic - Heme/TCT ID and SOT ID
- 9 months of TxID research
- Travel to TxID conferences
- We cover certificate in healthcare admin, population health or clinical/translational science

Excited to launch new tracks in our 2-year ID fellowship program @ou.edu starting July 2025: TxID, Hospital epi/healthcare admin, Trop Med/Global Health, ID/Crit Care.
Tracks come with option for 12-credit certificates, covered by the program:

medicine.ouhsc.edu/academic-dep...

🧵

#IDSky #TxID

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

How to prevent infections in the increasingly immunocompromised traveler? Part 1 (non-transplant) is out now! Stay tuned for part 2!
@ritawilson.bsky.social @andhen25.bsky.social @ou.edu
#IDSky #TxID

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Herpesvirus Infections After Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy and Bispecific Antibodies: A Review In this narrative review, we explore the burden and risk factors of various herpesvirus infections in patients receiving chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy or bispecific antibodies (BsAb...

Out now, everything you need to know, that is known and not known, about herpesviruses after CAR T and BsAb, in our review with Dr Emily Siegrist and Dr Roy Chemaly!
@mdanderson.bsky.social @ou.edu
#IDSky #TxID

www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17...

How Oklahomans can protect themselves from norovirus, or 'stomach bug' A stomach bug sweeping the country has infected hundreds of patients in its path.

Spoke to @koconews.bsky.social about norovirus, clinical presentation and preventive measures #IDSky

www.koco.com/article/okla...

We have used it a couple times for VRE where no other options were available or feasible @bryanpwhite.bsky.social

T-SPOT.TB performs much better in many immunocompromised populations IMO, but historically was logistically more difficult from CA due to time-sensitive FedEx of samples to Memphis which failed a lot with winter storms. Less an issue now that Quest bought T-SPOT.

T-SPOT resulted in
- fewer indeterminate results (than QFT)
- more “actionable” results (than QFT)

in certain immunocompromised populations #TBSky

Out now in @thetxidjournal.bsky.social!

T-SPOT.TB is more likely to produce actionable results than QFT-TB in patients with cancer being screened for latent TB.

#TxID #IDSky

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Risk factors for positive follow-up blood cultures in critically ill adults with Gram-negative bacteraemia AbstractObjectives. To evaluate the utility of follow-up blood cultures (FUBCs) for Gram-negative bloodstream infection (BSI) in ICU patients and identify

A retrospective cohort study of Gram-negative BSIs in ICU shows fever, lack of source control and time to repeat follow-up blood culture (FUBC) as risk factors for repeat positive FUBC:
https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlae144
#JACAMRNews @bryanpwhite.bsky.social

A5. Another test I am using more often is the CMV T-cell immunity panel through Viracor, especially to help with duration of secondary prophylaxis, particularly in the non-HCT, non-SOT cases where risk period and duration of prophylaxis are still unknown. #TxID

A5. I focused my use of Karius for pneumonia in those patients who cannot have a BAL, based on the PICKUP study where this subset showed the highest additive diagnostic yield. Has been a mixed experience overall. #TxID

And our editorial

www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...

Special theme issue in @cmijournal.bsky.social - Infections in immunocompromised hosts, edited by Dr Roy Chemaly, with a series of high yield #TxID reviews, including our review of herpesviruses after allogeneic HCT #IDSky

www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...