On June 3, 2023, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons convened a meeting in San Diego, California to (1) develop a consensus statement with supporting data on the ethical tenets of thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) and abdominal NRP; (2) provide guidelines for the standards of practice that should govern thoracoabdominal NRP and abdominal NRP; and (3) develop and implement a central database for the collection of NRP donor and recipient data in the United States. National and international leaders in the fields of neuroscience, transplantation, critical care, NRP, Organ Procurement Organizations, transplant centers, and donor families participated. The conference was designed to focus on the controversial issues of neurological flow and function in donation after circulatory death donors during NRP and propose technical standards necessary to ensure that this procedure is performed safely and effectively. This article discusses major topics and conclusions addressed at the meeting.
Infectious Complications in Advanced Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients Treated with Lenalidomide (Revlimid +/- Corticosteroids).
Abstract Abstract 2876 Poster Board II-852 Multiple myeloma (MM) patients (pts) are immunosuppressed given the underlying disease, previous treatments and myelosuppression seen on lenalidomide (Revlimid, Rev). We evaluated the infectious complications seen on Celgene's Expanded Access Rev program at Princess Margaret Hospital. We have treated 75 pts who had progressed after at least one prior therapy as part of a national study in Canada. At entry, pts were required to have a neutrophil count of ≥1.0 ×109/L. The median age was 61 yrs (range 35-79); 52% were males. Prior therapy included stem cell transplant in 65, thalidomide in 54 and bortezomib in 24. Number of lines of prior therapy were as follows: 24 (one), 29 (two), 16 (three), 8 (four) and one (five). Neupogen was used liberally (63%) after a patient had a dose delay on trial due to neutropenia. Patients were treated with full dose lenalidomide at entry onto clinical trial and were maintained on full dosing unless platelet counts were <30×109/L or ANC was <1.0×109/L. No other dose adjustments were made for renal dysfunction. Results: There were 32 pts (43%) who had a clinically evident infection; the majority (91%) was on prophylactic antibiotics (septra/ciprofloxacin) at the time. There were two deaths due to infection and 23 pts (72%) required hospitalization (range 2-27 days). The majority of infections occurred within the first 4 cycles of treatment (26 pts) and seemed to occur more in pts with several lines of prior therapy – 7/24 (29%) with 1 prior therapy, 14/29 (48%) with 2, 9/16 (56%) with 3 and 2/8 (25%) with 4 prior therapies. Sixteen were neutropenic of which 7 had febrile neutropenia (9%). The types of infections were: respiratory in 14 (1 with pneumocystis pneumonia), cellulitis in 4, herpes simplex and herpes zoster in 2 pts each. These included streptococcus pneumoniae (1), staphylococcus aureus (3), respiratory syncitial virus (1) and mycobacterium chelonae (1). Rev was held during the infection in 23 pts (72%). Conclusions: 1) Infections are frequent in this patient population (43%) and often lead to hospitalization (72%); respiratory infections accounted for a large majority (43%). 2) Early aggressive growth factor support and broader antibiotic prophylaxis may be of benefit especially in heavily pretreated patients. 3) Dose reduction of Rev in the context of serious infections should be further evaluated. Disclosures: Kukreti: Celgene: Honoraria. Trudel:Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Ortho Biotech: Honoraria. Chen:Celgene: Honoraria.
A multicenter evaluation of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients
AbstractBackgroundHematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients have increased morbidity from respiratory viral infections. Pandemic influenza A – A(H1N1)/pdm09 – in 2009–2010 was associated with increased severity of illness in patients with underlying co‐morbidities including HSCT, but the factors that contribute to severe disease in HSCT patients are not well characterized.MethodsWe conducted a multicenter review of microbiologically proven influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in the HSCT population between April 2009 and April 2010 to determine factors that are associated with severe disease.ResultsWe identified 37 adult patients (26 allogeneic and 11 autologous HSCT recipients). Median time from transplant to diagnosis was 411 days (range 4 days–14.9 years). Three cases were hospital acquired. Twenty‐eight of 37 (75.7%) had confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09. Presumed viral lower respiratory tract infection was present in 12/37 (32.4%) patients. Antiviral therapy was given to 33/37 (89%) patients, primarily oseltamivir (n = 24) and oseltamivir before or after another antiviral (n = 8). Excluding those with nosocomial A(H1N1)pdm09, 18/34 (52.9%) were hospitalized and 6 (33%) required admission to an intensive care unit. Mortality within 30 and 60 days of symptom onset was 7/37 (18.9%) and 11/37 (29.7%), respectively. Factors associated with mortality included nosocomial acquisition (P = 0.023), receipt of mycophenolate mofetil (P = 0.001), or antilymphocyte antibody (P = 0.005) within the past 6 months, reduced‐intensity conditioning (P = 0.027), and bacteremia (P = 0.021).ConclusionsA(H1N1)pdm09 infection was particularly severe in HSCT recipients, specifically among those receiving augmented immunosuppression for graft‐versus‐host disease. The high mortality of the nosocomial cases highlights the need for strict infection‐control measures in hospitals during influenza outbreaks.