Danaparoid reduces transplant‐related mortality in stem cell transplantation for children

In SCT, death from transplant‐related complications is the major obstacle hindering improvement of transplant outcomes, and proper supportive care is essential to reduce TRM. The transplant outcomes of 210 pediatric patients with malignant and non‐malignant disorders who consecutively underwent SCT in our institution from 2000 to 2013 were analyzed. The transplant years were divided into three periods: A (2000‐2004), B (2005‐2008), and C (2009‐2013), and an improvement in 5‐year OS and a decrease in 5‐year TRM were observed over these time periods; that is, OS was 61.5%, 60.3%, and 79.5% (P = .062), and TRM was 19.9%, 7.9%, and 0.0% (P < .001) in periods A, B, and C, respectively. On multivariate analysis, the prognostic factor for TRM for all patients was administration of danaparoid (HR = 0.109, 95% CI = 0.033‐0.363, P < .001), and for patients with hematological malignancies in allogeneic SCT, the prognostic factors were danaparoid (HR = 0.046, 95% CI = 0.006‐0.326, P = .002) and advanced disease at SCT (HR = 4.802, 95% CI = 1.734‐13.30, P = .003). A reduction in TRM after SCT was observed over the time periods, and supportive care with danaparoid was found to be significantly effective in reducing TRM in SCT for children.     

异基因造血干细胞移植治疗儿童再生障碍性贫血临床分析

目的探讨异基因造血干细胞移植在儿童再生障碍性贫血治疗中的作用。方法10例再障患儿中,5例行HLA相合同胞供者异基因外周造血干细胞移植,3例行无关供者异基因外周造血干细胞移植,1例行无关供者骨髓移植,1例行脐血移植。结果1例接受脐血移植者未植活,其余9例均植入。中位植入时间14d（8～24d）,中性粒细胞〉0.5×10^9/L中位时间12d（8～19d）,血小板〉20×10^9/L中位时间17d（9～40d）。2例发生排斥,1例接受了第二次移植,1例移植后3个月血象开始自行恢复。结论如有HLA相合的同胞供者,异基因造血干细胞移植可作为儿童再障的一线治疗;临床重症感染无法控制的患儿,并非移植绝对反指征,相反可通过移植后的造血重建控制感染。     

Transplant‐related mortality following allogeneic hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: 25‐year retrospective review

Background

Over the last 25 years, donor source, conditioning, graft‐versus‐host disease prevention and supportive care for children undergoing hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have changed dramatically. HSCT indications for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) now include high‐risk patients in first and subsequent remission. There is a large burden of infectious and pre‐HSCT morbidities, due to myelosuppressive therapy required for remission induction. We hypothesized that, despite these trends, overall survival (OS) had increased.

Procedure

A retrospective audit of allogeneic pediatric HSCT for ALL was performed in our institution over 25 years. Outcomes for 136 HSCTs were analyzed in three consecutive 8‐year periods (Period 1: 1/1/1984–31/8/1992, Period 2: 1/9/1992–30/4/2001, Period 3: 1/5/2001–31/12/2009).

Results

Despite a significant increase in unrelated donor HSCT, event‐free and OS over 25 years improved significantly. (EFS 31.6–64.8%, P = 0.0027; OS 41.8–78.9%, P < 0.0001) Concurrently, TRM dropped from 33% to 5% (P = 0.0004) whilst relapse rate was static (P = 0.07). TRM reduced significantly for matched sibling and unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCT) in Period 3 compared with earlier periods (P = 0.036, P = 0.0098, respectively). Factors leading to improved survival in patients undergoing UCT include better matching, higher total nucleated cell doses, and significantly faster neutrophil engraftment. Length of initial HSCT admission was similar over time.

Conclusion

EFS and OS have increased significantly despite heightened HSCT complexity. This survival gain was due to TRM reduction. Contemporary patients have benefited from refined donor selection and improved supportive care. Overall rates of leukemic relapse post‐HSCT are unchanged, and remain the focus for improvement. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;160:1520–1527. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Pretransplant paranasal sinus disease is associated with a high incidence of transplant‐related mortality in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for children and adolescents

To determine whether pretransplant PSD affects the clinical outcomes in HSCT, a retrospective cohort analysis of 73 pediatric and adolescent patients who underwent HSCT was performed. Pretransplant PSD was defined as the presence of a fluid level or mucosal swelling or total opacity on sinus X‐ray or CT examination performed before HSCT. Pretransplant PSD was observed in 21 (29%) patients. The probability of 2‐year OS after HSCT was 42% in patients with pretransplant PSD (PSD group), and 64% in those without (non‐PSD group) (P=.012). The cumulative incidence of 2‐year TRM was 48% in the PSD group, and 17% in the non‐PSD group (P=.005). The cumulative incidences of pulmonary complications and respiratory failure at 2 years after HSCT were significantly higher in the PSD group (41% vs 15%, P=.022; 44% vs 14%, P=.009, respectively). PSD at the time of HSCT should be recognized as an additional potential risk factor for mortality. Further investigation is required to clarify the reasons for the present findings to improve the outcomes of patients with pretransplant PSD.     

Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with post‐transplant high‐dose cyclophosphamide in high‐risk children: A single‐center study

Recently, haploidentical transplantations have been performed with unmanipulated BM or PBSC. This approach is becoming more widely adopted with the use of PTCY. However, there is limited evidence about this approach in children. We present 15 children who received 16 haploidentical HSCT with unmanipulated BM or PBSC using PTCY for GVHD prophylaxis. Post‐transplant CY(50 mg/kg IV) was given on the third and fifth day, and CsA or tacrolimus with MMF or MP was also used for GVHD prophylaxis. All patients engrafted at a median of 16 and 18 days for neutrophil and thrombocyte recovery, respectively. Grades II–III acute GVHD developed in seven patients, and mild chronic GVHD was found in two patients. Two patients died within the first 100 days due to sepsis (TRM 12.5%). Eleven patients are currently alive, with a median follow‐up of 12 months (range 6–22 months). The 12‐month OS and DFS were 75 ± 10.8% and 68.8 ± 11.6%, respectively. Our results with these high‐risk patients are encouraging for haploidentical HSCT in pediatric patients. Future studies should continue to assess haploidentical HSCT, including comparison of other modalities, in a primary pediatric population.     

Early predictors of mortality in children with pulmonary complications after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation

PC are a main cause of death following HSCT in children. We aimed to evaluate early predictors of mortality in paediatric recipients with PCs. A retrospective observational study of 35 patients with 49 episodes of PI on chest radiography (of 124 patients) who had undergone HSCT at a tertiary university hospital between January 2011 and December 2012 was performed. During follow‐up (median 26.1 months), 15 episodes led to death (30.6%). An aetiologic diagnosis was made by non‐invasive tests in 24 episodes (49.0%) and by adding bronchoalveolar lavage and/or lung biopsy in 7 episodes with diagnostic yield (77.8%, P = .001). Thus, a specific diagnosis was obtained in 63.3% of the episodes. Aetiology identification and treatment modification after diagnosis did not decrease mortality (P = .057, P = .481). However, the number of organ dysfunctions at the beginning of PI was higher in the mortality group, compared to the survivor group (1.7 ± 1.2 vs 0.32 ± 0.59; P = .001). Hepatic dysfunction (OR, 11.145; 95% CI, 1.23 to 101.29; P = .032) and neutropaenia (OR, 10.558; 95% CI, 1.07 to 104.65; P = .044) were independently associated with risk of mortality. Therefore, hepatic dysfunction and neutropaenia are independent early predictors of mortality in HSCT recipients with PCs.     

儿童造血干细胞移植后巨细胞病毒感染的临床研究

目的了解儿童造血干细胞移植后巨细胞病毒的感染率和防治方法。方法对从2001年8月到2007年3月北京儿童医院血液病中心37例作造血干细胞移植的血液肿瘤及先天遗传性疾病患儿进行回顾性分析。结果31例可研究病例中,5例自体造血干细胞移植及5例同基因造血干细胞移植患儿无人类巨细胞病毒（HCMV）感染,21例异基因造血干细胞移植患儿,发生HCMV感染7例,感染率为33.3%,大剂量阿昔洛韦加丙种球蛋白预防及早期更昔洛韦加大剂量静脉丙种球蛋白治疗,仅1例发生巨细胞病毒相关性间质性肺炎（CMV-IP）,无1例发生巨细胞病毒感染相关死亡。结论巨细胞病毒感染是儿童造血干细胞移植术后的主要并发症,临床上进行定期监测、前瞻性预防、早期诊断和及时合理治疗,对降低移植术后巨细胞病毒感染和提高移植成功率至关重要。     

Engraftment syndrome following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children

Abstract:  ES is a complication that occurs immediately before or at the timing of neutrophil engraftment following autologous or allogeneic SCT. It is characterized by fever, skin rash, and non-cardiac pulmonary infiltrates. We evaluated the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of ES following allogeneic SCT in children. Of 100 pediatric patients, 20 (20%) developed ES occurring at a median of 14 days (range 8–27 days) post-transplant. Patients presented with fever (100%), skin rash (100%), diffuse pulmonary infiltration (25%), and body weight gain (85%). On multivariate analysis, significant risk factors for ES included younger age (<8 yr old) and human leukocyte antigen disparity between donors and recipients. Univariate analysis showed that patients with ES had a higher incidence of developing chronic graft-versus-host disease and ES was not associated with other complications. Event-free survival did not significantly differ between patients with and without ES regardless of the presence of malignant or non-malignant diseases.     

异基因造血干细胞移植并发致死性间质性肺炎

目的探讨小儿异基因造血于细胞移植并发间质性肺炎（IP）的发病病因、临床特点、危险因素及防治措施。方法根据尸解病理检查及聚合酶键反应技术对病毒病原学检测结果，结合临床移植资料综合分析。结果14例移植患儿中并发IP3例（3／14），分别死于十19天、＋76天、＋150天;3例IP中2例移植前后外周血及尸解肺组织直到CMV包涵体;4例3～4应急性GVHD患儿中3例并发IP，10例0～2度急性GVHD无1例并发IP。结论IP是移植早期死亡的重要原因之一，巨细胞病毒感染是IP的主要病原，GVHD严重程度与移植后并发IP密切相关.     

The outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Korean children with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Yoon HS, Im HJ, Moon HN, Lee JH, Kim H‐J, Yoo KH, Sung KW, Koo HH, Kang HJ, Shin HY, Ahn HS, Cho B, Kim HK, Lyu CJ, Lee MJ, Kook H, Hwang TJ, Seo JJ. The outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Korean children with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.
Pediatr Transplantation 2010: 14:735–740. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Chemoimmunotherapy‐based treatments have improved the survival of patients with HLH, but outcomes of the patients are still unsatisfactory. We report here the outcome of Korean children with HLH who underwent HSCT, which was analyzed from the data of a nation‐wide HLH registry. Retrospective nation‐wide data recruitment for the pediatric HLH patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2008 was carried out by the Histiocytosis Working Party of the Korean Society of Hematology. Nineteen patients who received HSCT among the total of 148 enrolled children with HLH were analyzed for the transplant‐related variables and events. The probability of five‐yr survival after HSCT was 73.3% with a median follow‐up of 57. Two months compared to 54.3% for the patients who were treated with chemoimmunotherapy only (p = 0.05). The reasons for HSCT were active disease after eight wk of initial treatment (n = 9), relapsed disease (n = 5), and FHL (n = 5). Fourteen patients are currently alive without disease after HSCT, four patients died of treatment‐related events (infection in two and graft failure in two) at early post‐transplant period, and one patient died of relapse at one yr post transplantation. The survival of patients who were transplanted because of active disease after eight wk of initial treatment was worse compared to those patients who had inactive state at that time (60.6% vs. 100%, respectively, p = 0.06). Of the four patients who received transplants using cord blood, three died of graft failure (n = 2) and relapse (n = 1). The five‐yr probability of survival after HSCT according to the donor type was 85.7% for the MRDs (n = 6), 87.5% for the MUDs (n = 8), and 40% for the MMUDs (n = 5) (p = 0.03). Other variables such as age, CNS involvement at the time of diagnosis, the etiology of HLH (familial or secondary), and the conditioning regimens had no influence on the five‐yr OS of the HLH patients who underwent HSCT. HSCT improved the survival of the patients who had familial, relapsed, or severe and persistent SHLH in the Korean nation‐wide HLH registry. Although numbers were small, these results are similar to other reports in the literature. The disease state after initial treatment, the stem cell source of the transplant, and the donor type were the important prognostic factors that affected the OS of the HLH patients who underwent HSCT.     

儿童异基因造血干细胞移植后急性肾损伤临床分析

目的分析儿童异基因造血干细胞移植(allo-HSCT)后急性肾损伤(AKI)的临床特征及危险因素。方法回顾性分析2016年8月至2020年3月于武汉儿童医院血液肿瘤科接受allo-HSCT患儿的临床资料,对比移植预处理开始前及移植后100天血肌酐(Cr)、肌酐清除率(Ccr),以及移植后1年的生存情况;采用logistic回归分析影响AKI发生的危险因素。结果共147例allo-HSCT患儿纳入研究,其中男85例、女62例,接受移植时中位年龄5.5岁(0.7个月～16岁)。其中101例(68.7%)患儿发生AKI,中位时间为移植后24.0(-5.0～91.0)d。二元logistic回归分析显示,移植后急性移植物抗宿主病(aGVHD)、肝窦间隙阻塞综合征(SOS)是AKI发生的独立危险因素(P<0.05)。按pRIFLE诊断标准将发生AKI的101例患儿分为风险期组54例、肾损伤期组31例以及肾衰竭期组16例。不同分期之间患儿Cr以及Ccr差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05),肾衰竭期组Cr较高,Ccr较低。allo-HSCT后随访1年,18例患儿死亡,其中AKI患儿死亡16...     

儿童异基因造血干细胞移植术后巨细胞病毒感染临床分析

目的探讨儿童异基因造血干细胞移植(allo-HSCT)后巨细胞病毒(CMV)感染的危险因素及临床相关特征。方法收集2016年1月至2018年12月共269例allo-HSCT患儿的临床资料。监测移植后全血CMV-DNA拷贝数,分析移植患儿CMV感染发生率、发生时间、危险因素及预后。结果 269例患儿中,男167例、女102例,中位年龄65个月(33～115个月),其中165例发生CMV感染,感染率为61.3%,感染发生时间为移植后23 d(15～34 d),感染持续时间38 d(25～66 d)。Logistic回归分析发现患儿移植年龄65个月、移植后发生Ⅱ～Ⅳ级aGVHD是发生CMV感染的危险因素,而亲缘全相合移植能降低CMV感染发生风险(P0.05)。发生Ⅱ～Ⅳ级急性移植物抗宿主病(aGVHD)及使用脐血移植与发生难治性CMV感染相关(P0.05)。难治性CMV感染组与非难治性CMV感染组总体生存率及无病生存率的差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论移植患儿年龄大、Ⅱ～Ⅳ级aGVHD能增加CMV感染的发生风险,亲缘全相合移植能降低CMV感染的发生风险。脐血移植后易发生难治性CMV感染;难治性CMV感染初次检测到CMV感染时间早,峰值高。     

Taste dysfunction in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: Clinical evaluation in children

The aim of this study was to determine the variability of TD in children undergoing HSCT. Cases were identified as consecutively enrolled children in the period January 2011–January 2013 among patients attending the Paediatric Department of Spedali Civili of Brescia and all candidates to HSCT. The TST was conducted in two phases: identification of threshold values and identification of perceived stimulus intensity. Sixteen sapid solutions with four flavors (sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and quinine hydrochloride) at four different concentrations were administered in a random sequence. The same protocol was administered at different time intervals: before starting the conditioning therapy (T0), during the conditioning therapy (T1) (two times), and every three months (two times) after engraftment post‐HSCT (T2). A p‐value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Fifty‐one children (29 female and 22 male, mean age 5.2 ± 0.7 yr) were enrolled. Threshold value means for the four flavors increased during HSCT conditioning therapy (T1) (p < 0.01); intensity of perceived stimulus decreased during HSCT conditioning therapy (p < 0.01). At six months after engraftment (T2), both parameters had returned to starting values (T0). Changes in taste perception in children undergoing HSCT seem to occur especially during the conditioning therapy and resolve in about six months after engraftment post‐HSCT.     

Surveillance cultures in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

The value of surveillance cultures in predicting systemic infections and in guiding antimicrobial treatment is controversial. We investigated 57 pediatric allo‐SCTs between 2007 and 2009. ALL (34), AML (5), and severe aplastic anemia (4) were the largest patient groups. Conditioning was TBI‐based in 87% and 54% developed GVHD (21% grade III‐IV). Of the 2594 weekly colonization samples, 24% were positive (fecal bacteria 86%, fecal fungi 16%, Clostridium difficile 16%; throat bacteria 17% and throat fungi 4%). Enterobacteria and enterococci were the most common fecal findings, staphylococci and streptococci in the throat. Of the bacterial stool samples pretransplant, 74% (mostly enterococci) were resistant to our first‐line antibiotics (ceftazidime and cloxacillin). Candida species accounted for the majority of the fungal findings: 62% of the fecal and 78% in the throat. A total of 170 clinical infection episodes were recorded, and in 12 of these, the bacterial blood culture was positive. In 4/12 cases, the pathogen was detected in surveillance culture previously, leading to sensitivity and specificity of 33.3 and 47.4%, respectively. Positive predictive value of bacterial surveillance cultures was 0.9%. The antimicrobial treatment was changed in only five cases based on the surveillance culture results. Weekly surveillance cultures seldom provided clinical benefit and were not cost‐effective.     

Antithymocyte globulin in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: Infusion time and tolerability

Antithymocyte globulin is a major drug in transplantation. rATG has been successfully used to prevent graft‐versus‐host disease in allogeneic HSCT. However, its first infusion is associated with reactions ranging from simple fevers to distributive shocks and may interfere with the transplant conditioning. To evaluate the impact of rATG infusion rate on clinical tolerability, we conducted a retrospective study of all pediatric allogeneic HSCT patients who received rATG (Thymoglobulin®) as part of their conditioning at Lille University Hospital from 2003 to 2018. Until 2012, patients received rATG with a theoretical infusion time of 12 hours (12H group, n = 33). From 2012, they had a theoretical infusion time of 4 hours (4H group, n = 43). Patients from the 12H arm presented more ≥ grade 3 infusion‐related reactions at first dose (70% versus 44%, P = .027), had significantly higher fever (median of 39.6°C versus 39.2°C, P = .002), and needed a greater use of symptomatic treatments. However, they received a slightly higher first dose of rATG (median of 2.7 versus 2.3 mg/kg, P = .042). In view of these results, a rATG infusion time of 4 hours can be a relevant option for pediatric transplant centers to avoid interference with the conditioning regimen and facilitate medical surveillance.