Acute Cellular Rejection and Infection Rates in Alemtuzumab vs Traditional Induction Therapy Agents for Lung and Heart Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 3723-3731 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.H.C. Li ◽  
J.C.S. Ho ◽  
B. Recaldin ◽  
M. Gong ◽  
J. Ho ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Bobbio ◽  
Marie Björkenstam ◽  
Bright I. Nwaru ◽  
Francesco Giallauria ◽  
Eva Hessman ◽  
...  

AbstractHeart transplantation (HTx) is a valid therapeutic option for end-stage heart failure secondary to cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) or giant-cell myocarditis (GCM). However, post-HTx outcomes in patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy (ICM) have been poorly investigated. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Science Citation Index, EMBASE, and Google Scholar, screened the gray literature, and contacted experts in the field. We included studies comparing post-HTx survival, acute cellular rejection, and disease recurrence in patients with and without ICM. Data were synthesized by a random‐effects meta‐analysis. We screened 11,933 articles, of which 14 were considered eligible. In a pooled analysis, post-HTx survival was higher in CS than non-CS patients after 1 year (risk ratio [RR] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.60–1.17; I2 = 0%) and 5 years (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52–0.91; I2 = 0%), but statistically significant only after 5 years. During the first-year post-HTx, the risk of acute cellular rejection was similar for patients with and without CS, but after 5 years, it was lower in those with CS (RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.03–0.72; I2 = 0%). No difference in post-HTx survival was observed between patients with and without GCM after 1 year (RR 1.16, 95% CI 0.05–2.28; I2 = 0%) or 5 years (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.42–1.54; I2 = 0%). During post-HTx follow-up, recurrence of CS and GCM occurred in 5% and 8% of patients, respectively. Post-HTx outcomes in patients with CS and GCM are comparable with cardiac recipients with other heart failure etiologies. Patients with ICM should not be disqualified from HTx. Graphic abstract


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stormi E. Gale ◽  
Bharath Ravichandran ◽  
Van-Khue Ton ◽  
Si Pham ◽  
Brent N. Reed

The use of alemtuzumab for induction therapy in orthotopic heart transplantation remains controversial, despite its observed benefits in other transplant populations. This study aimed to evaluate whether alemtuzumab conferred a lower risk of rejection while reducing toxicities commonly attributed to standard immunosuppression in orthotopic heart transplantation. We included adult patients who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation and received induction therapy with alemtuzumab (n = 26) or standard immunosuppression (n = 26). The primary end point was freedom from grade ≥2 rejection at 12 months. Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups with the exception of poorer renal function in the alemtuzumab group ( P < .05). The primary end point of freedom from grade ≥2 rejection at 12 months was not different between alemtuzumab and standard therapy (76.9% vs 96.2%, P = .077), likely due to similarities in the rates of antibody-mediated rejection in the 2 groups. However, grade ≥2 acute cellular rejection was considerably lower with alemtuzumab (0% vs 19.2%, P = .02), as was acute cellular rejection of any severity (50% vs 7.7%, P = .004). Deterioration in renal function was significantly greater among patients receiving standard therapy as evidenced by decreases in glomerular filtration rate (−25.6 vs −9.2 mL/min, P = .032). No differences in hematologic or infectious complications were observed. In conclusion, alemtuzumab reduced several important rejection-related outcomes while ameliorating the toxicities associated with standard immunosuppression therapy, making it a promising agent for induction in orthotopic heart transplantation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Beatriz Bittencourt Viana Cruz ◽  
Ludhmila A. Hajjar ◽  
Fernando Bacal ◽  
Marco S. Lofrano-Alves ◽  
Márcio S. M. Lima ◽  
...  

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.


Author(s):  
S Bello ◽  
EA Bamgboye ◽  
DT Ajayi ◽  
EN Ossai ◽  
EC Aniwada ◽  
...  

Background: Compliance with handwashing in busy healthcare facilities, such as intensive care units (ICUs), is suboptimal and alcohol hand-rub preparations have been suggested to improve compliance. There is no evidence on the comparative effectiveness between handwash and hand-rub strategies. This systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of handwash versus hand-rub strategies for preventing nosocomial infection in ICUs. Methods Studies conducted in ICUs and indexed in PubMed comparing the clinical effectiveness and adverse events between handwash and hand-rub groups were included in a systematic review. The primary outcome was nosocomial infection rates. Secondary outcomes included microbial counts on healthcare providers’ hands, mortality rates, patient/hospital cost of treatment of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), length of ICU/hospital stays, and adverse events. Studies were independently screened and data extracted by at least two authors. Meta-analyses of risk ratios (RR), incidence rate ratios (IRR), odds ratios (OR) and mean differences (MD), were conducted using the RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Seven studies published between 1992-2009 and involving a total of 11,663 patients were included. Five studies (10,981 patients) contributed data to the ICU acquired nosocomial infection rates. The pooled IRR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.61, 0.82; I2 = 94%). On sensitivity analysis, pooled IRR was 0.39 (95% CI 0.32, 0.48; 4 studies; 8,247 patients; I2 = 0%) in favour of hand rub. The pooled OR for mortality was 0.95 (95% CI 0.78, 1.61; 4 studies; 3,475 patients; I2 = 39%). The pooled MD for length of hospital stay was -0.74 (95% CI -2.83, 1.34; 3 studies; 741 patients; I2 = 0%). The pooled OR for an undesirable skin effect was 0.37 (95% CI 0.23, 0.60; 3 studies;1504 patients; I2 = 0%) in favour of hand rub. Overall quality of evidence was low. Conclusion: Hand rub appeared more effective when compared to handwash in ICUs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecília Beatriz Bittencourt Viana Cruz ◽  
Ludhmila A. Hajjar ◽  
Fernando Bacal ◽  
Marco S. Lofrano-Alves ◽  
Márcio S.M. Lima ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Acute cellular rejection (ACR) is a major complication after heart transplantation. Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) remains the gold standard for its diagnosis, but it has concerning complications. We evaluated the usefulness of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and biomarkers for detecting ACR after heart transplantation.Methods: We prospectively studied 60 transplant patients with normal left and right ventricular systolic function who underwent EMB for surveillance six months after transplantation. Sixty age- and sex-matched healthy individuals constituted the control group. Conventional echocardiographic parameters, left ventricular global longitudinal, radial and circumferential strain (LV-GLS, LV-GRS and LV-GCS, respectively), left ventricular systolic twist (LV-twist) and right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain (RV-FWLS) were analyzed just before the procedure. We also measured biomarkers at the same moment. Results: Among the included 60 patients, 17 (28%) had severe ACR (grade ≥ 2R), and 43 (72%) had no significant ACR (grade 0 – 1R). The absolute values of LV-GLS, LV-twist and RV-FWLS were lower in transplant patients with ACR degree ≥ 2 R than in those without ACR (12.5% ± 2.9% vs 14.8% ± 2.3%, p=0.002; 13.9° ± 4.8° vs 17.1° ± 3.2°, p=0.048; 21.4%± 3.2% vs 16.6% ± 2.9%, p<0.001; respectively), while no differences were observed between the LV-GRS or LV-GCS. All of these parameters were lower in the transplant group without ACR than in the nontransplant control group, except for the LV-twist. Cardiac troponin I levels were significantly higher in patients with significant ACR than in patients without significant ACR [0.19 ng/mL (0.09–1.31) vs. 0.05 ng/mL (0.01–0.18), p=0.007]. The combination of troponin with LV-GLS, RV FWLS and LV-Twist had an AUC (area under curve) for the detection of ACR of 0.80 (0.68 – 0.92), 0.89 (0.81 – 0.93) and 0.79 (0.66 – 0.92), respectively. Conclusion: Heart transplant patients have altered left ventricular dynamics compared with control individuals. The combination of troponin with strain parameters had higher accuracy for the detection of ACR than the isolated variables and this association might select patients with a higher risk for ACR who will benefit from an EMB procedure in the first year after heart transplantation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document