Browsing by Subject "Immunocompromised Host"

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    Challenges with Intestine and Multivisceral Re-Transplantation: Importance of Timing of Re-Transplantation and Optimal Immunosuppression
    (Springer, 2018-02-06) Kubal, Chandrashekhar A.; Pennington, Catherine; Fridell, Jonathan; Ekser, Burcin; Muhaylov, Plamen; Mangus, Richard; Surgery, School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND Patients undergoing re-transplantation often receive high doses of immunosuppression, which may lead to an immunocompromised status of the recipient. This study investigates the outcomes after intestine/multivisceral re-transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Clinical outcomes of 23 patients undergoing 24 re-transplantations at a single intestine transplant center were reviewed. Bone marrow suppression was used as a surrogate marker of immunocompromised status, and was defined as platelet count <50 k/mm3 and absolute lymphocyte count <200/mm³. RESULTS All re-transplants except one were liver inclusive. Fifteen of 23 patients died at a median time of 12 months (range 0.2-75) after re-transplantation. Of the 15 deaths, nine (60%) resulted from complications associated with a compromised host immune status: graft versus host disease (GVHD) affecting bone marrow (three cases), persistent viral infection (three cases), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD (one case), metastatic cancer (one case), multi-drug resistant polymicrobial sepsis (one case). Four deaths (27%) resulted from severe rejection. Non-survivors were more likely to have received alemtuzumab, and had higher incidence of bone marrow suppression. In addition to immunocompromised status and rejection, the use of alemtuzumab was associated with mortality after intestinal/multivisceral re-transplantation. CONCLUSIONS High mortality was associated with intestine/multivisceral re-transplantation. To improve clinical outcomes of intestine and multivisceral transplantation, it is important to allow reconstitution of host immunity. Longer interval between the two transplantations, and strategies such as allograft specific immunosuppression, may spare the host from the devastating effects of potent immunosuppression currently used.
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    Test-based De-isolation in COVID-19 Immunocompromised patients: Ct value versus SARS-CoV-2 viral cultures
    (Elsevier, 2021-05) Alshukairi, Abeer N.; Tolah, Ahmed M.; Dada, Ashraf; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Almagharbi, Reem S.; Saeedi, Mohammed F.; Al-Hamzi, Mohammed A.; El-Kafrawy, Sherif A.; Bahaudden, Husam A.; El-Saeed, Aiman; Al-Mozaini, Maha A.; Khalid, Imran; Hefni, Lama K.; Hassan, Ahmed M.; Alandijany, Thamir A.; Bajrai, Leena H.; Bayumi, Daniyah T.; Albishi, Ghadeer E.; Althawadi, Sahar I.; Zabani, Najla A.; Perlman, Stanley; Azhar, Esam I.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background Immunocompromised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have prolonged infectious viral shedding for more than 20 days. A test-based approach is suggested for de-isolation of these patients. Methods The strategy was evaluated by comparing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load (cycle threshold (Ct) values) and viral culture at the time of hospital discharge in a series of 13 COVID-19 patients: six immunocompetent and seven immunocompromised (five solid organ transplant patients, one lymphoma patient, and one hepatocellular carcinoma patient). Results Three of the 13 (23%) patients had positive viral cultures: one patient with lymphoma (on day 16) and two immunocompetent patients (on day 7 and day 11). Eighty percent of the patients had negative viral cultures and had a mean Ct value of 20.5. None of the solid organ transplant recipients had positive viral cultures. Conclusions The mean Ct value for negative viral cultures was 20.5 in this case series of immunocompromised patients. Unlike those with hematological malignancies, none of the solid organ transplant patients had positive viral cultures. Adopting the test-based approach for all immunocompromised patients may lead to prolonged quarantine. Large-scale studies in disease-specific populations are needed to determine whether a test-based approach versus a symptom-based approach or a combination is applicable for the de-isolation of various immunocompromised patients.