The following is a summary of “Castleman disease- demographics, associations, and outcomes: an analysis of adult 791 cases,” published in the December 2023 issue of Hematology by Patel et al.

Despite its rarity, Castleman disease (CD) manifests in diverse forms and clinical outcomes, complicating its diagnosis and treatment. Researchers embarked on a retrospective study to characterize CD’s demographics, associated conditions, and outcomes.

They utilized the National Inpatient Sample (US) to pinpoint patients diagnosed with Castleman disease through the ICD-10 code D47.Z2 (2016 to 2019). Data on demographics, associated diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes were collected, with the analysis conducted using STATA Version 17, College Station, TX: Stata Corp LLC.

The results showed 791 hospitalizations of adult CD patients, averaging 52.4 years in age, with a male predominance (56.1%) and Whites as the largest racial group affected (50.1%). Most had Medicare coverage (39.6%) and were treated in urban teaching hospitals (84.0%) and large-bed size facilities (62.5%). In-hospital mortality stood at 2.8%, with an average stay of 7.5 days and total charges averaging $109,308. Common associations included acute kidney injury (27.0%), congestive heart failure (17.1%), sepsis (16.4%), and acute respiratory failure (12.6%). Hematological and lymphatic associations featured anemia (47.5%), thrombocytopenia (12.2%), and other conditions, with 11.1% receiving red blood cell transfusions.

Investigators concluded that valuable insights into the demographics, associations, and outcomes of CD emphasized the need for further research and improved diagnostic and treatment guidelines.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00277-023-05574-y