The medical language is flooded with abbreviations and acronyms. In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) coined a new one, REMS: risk evaluation and mitigation strategy. The REMS program helps to minimize known or potential risks associated with certain medications or biologic products by ensuring that healthcare providers and patients understand potential side effects and drug-drug interactions. REMS ultimately helps inform prescribers, pharmacists, nurses, and patients about risks and safety measures that need to be implemented.

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Hospitalization is often inescapable for patients with cancer. Depending on the type of malignancy, average length of stay (LOS) can vary widely. According to the 2006 National Hospital Discharge Survey, the average LOS was 6.5 days for patients with a first-line diagnosis of malignant neoplasm and 7.8 days for malignant neoplasms involving the large intestines or rectum. For patients with a hematologic malignancy who did not have renal complications or renal dialysis, the mean total cost was $13,947 for a 7.4 day LOS.

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Patients with cancer often require venous access for treatment and supportive therapies, which can increase their susceptibility to infection. Peripheral and long-term central venous catheters (CVCs) can become infected via several routes. Bacterial colonization during insertion, particularly with a patient’s endogenous flora, is a significant source of infection. Gram-positive organisms such as coagulase-negative staph, gram-negative [...]

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