Endovascular Treatment of Renal Artery Thrombosis in Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Recipient With Severe COVID-19 Disease

Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have a higher prevalence of micro-and macrovascular thrombotic events. However, the underlying mechanism for the increased thrombotic risk is not completely understood. Solid organ transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV-2 may have an exponential increase in thrombotic risk and the best management strategy is unknown. Case Report: A female kidney transplant recipient presented with allograft’s renal artery thrombosis after a recent COVID-19 infection. Due to the risk of kidney failure or exclusion, catheter directed thrombolysis was performed. Residual thrombus was excluded using an endoprosthesis with an excellent result. There were no adverse events and kidney function improved. Conclusion: This paper reports the endovascular treatment of renal artery thrombosis in a living-donor kidney transplant recipient with severe COVID-19 disease.

Peptoniphilus Colimassiliensis sp. nov. and Peptoniphilus Urinimassiliensis sp. nov., Two New Species Isolated From Humans

Strains Marseille-P3761 and Marseille-P3195 are representatives of two bacterial species isolated from human specimens. Strain Marseille-P3761 was isolated from the stool of a healthy volunteer, while strain Marseille-P3915 was cultivated from the urine of a kidney transplant recipient. Both strains are anaerobic Gram-positive cocci bacteria. Both are catalase-negative and oxidase-negative and grow optimally at 37°C in anaerobic conditions. They also metabolize carbohydrates such as galactose, glucose, fructose, and glycerol. The major fatty acids were hexadecanoic acid for both strains, Marseille-P3761 (38%) and Marseille-P3195 (31%). The highest DNA-DNA hybridization values of Marseille-P3761 and Marseille-P3195 strains when compared to their closest phylogenetic relatives were 52.3% and 56.4%, respectively. The morphological, biochemical, phenotypic and genomic characteristics strongly support that these strains are new members of the Peptoniphilus genus. Thus, we suggest that strains Marseille-P3761 (CSUR P3761 = CCUG71569) and Marseille-P3195 (CSUR P3195 = DSM 103468) are the type strains of two new Peptoniphilus species, for which we propose the names Peptoniphilus colimassiliensis sp. nov. and Peptoniphilus urinimassiliensis sp. nov., respectively.

Successful Antiviral Treatment with Direct-Acting Antivirals for Hepatitis C Virus Infection during Peritransplant Period in a Kidney Transplant Recipient

Introduction. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection continues to represent a poor prognostic factor in kidney transplant (KTx) patients. New direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) have dramatically changed the therapy management for HCV, showing promising results in terms of sustained virologic response. Timing for DAA therapy in HCV positive kidney waitlist patients continues to be controversial, and caution is recommended due to the potential difficult immunosuppressant dose adjustments, particularly in the early posttransplant period. We report a case of a KTx performed during antiviral DAA therapy. Report of Case. Patient was a 44-year-old man suffering from chronic HCV hepatitis associated with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD), waitlisted for a second KTx as a sensitized patient (panel-reactive antibody peak 85%) in March 2019. Four months later, antiviral DAA therapy was started (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir 300 mg/120 mg daily, for 8 weeks). After 30 days, a left kidney was offered and, given the good compatibility, we decided to proceed with KTx without discontinuing the DAA therapy. A standard straightforward kidney transplant was performed. Immunosuppression included thymoglobulin and prednisone for induction and tacrolimus and mycophenolate for maintenance. After a transient delay graft function, creatinine levels progressively decreased. From postoperative day 3, tacrolimus reached target levels and remained stable. No episodes of acute rejection occurred. The 8-week DAA therapy was carried out without interruption. All HCV-RNA level controls resulted undetectable. On postoperative day 15, the patient was discharged and remains in healthy condition with normal renal function and HCV negative after 18 months of follow-up. Discussion. In this case, DAA therapy during the perioperative KTx period was well tolerated and effective. If confirmed, patients should not necessarily be suspended from the waiting list during DAA therapy for HCV eradication.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 Infection in a Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipient: A Case Report from India

COVID-19 pandemic affected millions of people across India. COVID-19 cases are fewer in children with less severity and better outcomes than in adults. However, a small proportion develop severe illness and succumb to the disease. Clinical manifestations and optimal management of COVID-19 in immunocompromised children are not clearly known. Remdesivir was shown to be efficient in reducing the recovery time in COVID-19 patients requiring supplemental oxygen. Remdesivir is approved for use in children with severe COVID-19, but there are no guidelines in patients with risk factors like recent solid organ transplantation. We report a case of a 10-year-old kidney transplant recipient (KTR) infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2, 2.5 months after the transplantation. Unlike most children, he presented with high fever, cough, and vomiting. His inflammatory markers were elevated. In this case report, we discussed management and clinical outcomes of this patient. In view of recent kidney transplantation and the severity of infection with emergent oxygen requirement, we gave him remdesivir. We continued prednisolone and tacrolimus and stopped mycophenolate. He recovered completely in 7 days. We feel that severely immunosuppressed KTR children with COVID-19 will benefit with remdesivir administration. Monitoring tacrolimus trough levels is essential for maintaining adequate immunosuppression.