Withdrawing mycophenolate mofetil in treating a young kidney transplant recipient with COVID-19: A case report

COVID-19 and corticosteroids: a narrative review

It has been reported that corticosteroid therapy was effective in the management of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and recently in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Corticosteroids are potent anti-inflammatory drugs that mitigate the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia, despite a reduction of viral clearance; corticosteroids inhibit the development of cytokine storm and multi-organ damage. The risk-benefit ratio should be assessed for critical COVID-19 patients. In conclusion, corticosteroid therapy is an effective way in the management of COVID-19, it reduces the risk of complications primarily acute lung injury and the development of ARDS. Besides, corticosteroid therapy mainly dexamethasone and methylprednisolone are effective in reducing the severity of COVID-19 and associated comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Current utilization of interferon alpha for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019: A comprehensive review

Recent studies have identified an association between perturbed type I interferon (IFN) responses and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). IFNα intervention may normalize the dysregulated innate immunity of COVID-19. However, details regarding its utilization and therapeutic evidence have yet to be systematically evaluated. The aim of this comprehensive review was to summarize the current utilization of IFNα for COVID-19 treatment and to explore the evidence on safety and efficacy. A comprehensive review of clinical studies in the literature prior to December 1st_, 2021, was performed to identify the current utilization of IFNα, which included details on the route of administration, the number of patients who received the treatment, the severity at the initiation of treatment, age range, the time from the onset of symptoms to treatment, dose, frequency, and duration as well as safety and efficacy. Encouragingly, no evidence was found against the safety of IFNα treatment for COVID-19. Early intervention, either within five days from the onset of symptoms or at hospital admission, confers better clinical outcomes, whereas late intervention may result in prolonged hospitalization.

Covid-19 in kidney transplant recipients with immunosuppressive therapy

BACKGROUND

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, various treatments have been frequently reported for patients infected with this virus, especially in transplant patients/recipients. Objective: Investigating of kidney transplant patients under immunosuppressive therapy infected with COVID-19 can pave the way to understanding, handling, and treatment of COVID-19.

METHODS

We had a brief review of the literature on immunosuppressive therapy in kidney transplants infected with COVID-19. This was based on the PubMed Database with keywords "kidney, transplant, COVID-19, and immunosuppress" after hospitalization of kidney transplantation infected with COVID-19. He had already been recorded in the Organ Transplant Registry (ID≠ 64510) of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences /Iran.

RESULTS

We reported the clinical course of a 45-year-old man with a history of kidney transplantation and immunotherapy who was infected with COVID-19 with respiratory infections and positive RT-PCR (Real-time polymerase chain reaction). He was treated with hydroxychloroquine, Kaletra, CellCept, and prednisolone for 5 days, and finally discharged from the hospital. In addition, reviewing of 47 papers with 851 samples showed that immunosuppressant medications alone could be a therapeutic choice in kidney transplants infected with COVID-19 with careful management.

CONCLUSION

Patients with organ transplantation infected with COVID-19 may show different clinical signs, clinical course, and prognosis due to underlying diseases and the use of immunosuppressant medications. It might be best to continue taking the immunosuppressant medications but modify them based on the patients' conditions such as clinical symptoms, laboratory results, paraclinical examinations.

Immunosuppression in kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 infection - where do we stand and where are we heading?

The appropriate immunosuppressive regimen in kidney transplant recipients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19) infection remains unclear. The impact of direct virus injury complicated by dysregulated hyperimmune response with overwhelming release of various cytokines in COVID-19 infected subjects contributes to the complexity of management. The largest concern of the practicing clinicians at current time is how to tailor maintenance immune-modulating therapy during active viral infection and the efficacy of the soon-to-be upcoming immunization for COVID-19. This targeted review aims to cover most of the current evidence on the effect of key maintenance immunosuppressive agents in COVID-19 infection and proposes a line of management to specific scenarios on this very rapidly evolving subject.

Undetectable SARS-CoV-2 active adaptive immunity-post-vaccination or post-COVID-19 severe disease-after immunosuppressants use

Since the beginning of COVID-19 vaccination in New Jersey in December 2020, we have observed multiple cases of undetectable adaptive immunity, post-vaccination or post-COVID-19 infection, in patients using immunosuppressants. Here, we present three cases of patients using immunosuppressants: mycophenolate and tacrolimus for renal transplant; ocrelizumab for multiple sclerosis and rituximab for peripheral ulcerative keratitis. All three patients were admitted for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from COVID-19 pneumonia; two patients reported having received full COVID-19 vaccination prior to admission and one unvaccinated patient required readmission. Our findings showed that these patients tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 IgM spike and CoV-2 IgG nucleocapsid antibodies. All three patients were treated with standard-of-care remdesivir, dexamethasone and convalescent plasma; two recovered successfully and one patient died from respiratory failure secondary to worsening ARDS from COVID-19 pneumonia. We highlight the challenges of treating immunosuppressed patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, in an era where dissemination of such information is paramount to helping doctors standardise and improve the quality of care for these patients.

SARS-CoV-2 in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients: A Structured Review of 2020

BACKGROUND

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is challenging health systems all over the world. Particularly high-risk groups show considerable mortality rates after infection. In 2020, a huge number of case reports, case series, and consecutively various systematic reviews have been published reporting on morbidity and mortality risk connected with SARS-CoV-2 in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. However, this vast array of publications resulted in an increasing complexity of the field, overwhelming even for the expert reader.

METHODS

We performed a structured literature review comprising electronic databases, transplant journals, and literature from previous systematic reviews covering the entire year 2020. From 164 included articles, we identified 3451 cases of SARS-CoV-2-infected SOT recipients.

RESULTS

Infections resulted in a hospitalization rate of 84% and 24% intensive care unit admissions in the included patients. Whereas 53.6% of patients were reported to have recovered, cross-sectional overall mortality reported after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was at 21.1%. Synoptic data concerning immunosuppressive medication attested to the reduction or withdrawal of antimetabolites (81.9%) and calcineurin inhibitors (48.9%) as a frequent adjustment. In contrast, steroids were reported to be increased in 46.8% of SOT recipients.

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19 in SOT recipients is associated with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Conforming with current guidelines, modifications of immunosuppressive therapies mostly comprised a reduction or withdrawal of antimetabolites and calcineurin inhibitors, while frequently maintaining or even increasing steroids. Here, we provide an accessible overview to the topic and synoptic estimates of expectable outcomes regarding in-hospital mortality of SOT recipients with COVID-19.

The Therapeutic Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Inflammatory Diseases Caused by Virus, Especially on Those Caused by COVID-19

Inflammasomes are large multimolecular complexes best recognized because of their ability to control activation of caspase-1, which in turn regulates the maturation of interleukin-18 (IL-18) and interleukin-1 β (IL-1β). IL-1β was originally identified as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, capable of inducing local and systemic inflammation as well as a fever response reaction in response to infection or injury. Excessive production of IL-1β is related to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Both coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are characterized by excessive inflammatory response. For SARS, there is no correlation between viral load and worsening symptoms. However, there is no specific medicine which is available to treat the disease. As an important part of medical practice, TCM showed an obvious therapeutic effect in SARS-CoV-infected patients. In this article, we summarize the current applications of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Herein, we also offer an insight into the underlying mechanisms of the therapeutic effects of TCM, as well as introduce new naturally occurring compounds with anti-coronavirus activity, in order to provide a new and potential drug development strategy for the treatment of COVID-19.

Predictors of disease severity and outcome of hospitalized renal transplant recipients with COVID-19 infection: a systematic review of a globally representative sample

Introduction. COVID-19 presents a special challenge to the kidney transplant population.Methods. A systematic review of articles that examined COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients was performed. Patients' demographics, clinical, laboratory and radiological presentations, immunosuppression modification, and COVID-19 specific management were abstracted and analyzed. COVID-19 severity was classified into mild, moderate, and severe. Disease outcome was classified by whether the patient was discharged, still hospitalized, or died.Results. 44 articles reporting individual data and 13 articles reporting aggregated data on 149 and 561 kidney transplant recipients respectively with COVID-19 from Asia, Europe and America fulfilled all inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among studies reporting case specific data, 76% of cases had severe disease. Compared to patients with mild/moderate disease, patients with severe disease had higher CRP, LDH, Ferritin, D-dimer and were more likely to have bilateral lung involvement at presentation and longer time since transplantation (P < 0.05 for all). Recipients' age, gender and comorbidities did not impact disease severity. Patients with severe disease had a more aggressive CNI reduction and more antiviral medications utilization. Outcome was reported on 145 cases, of those 34 (23%) died all with severe disease. Longer duration from transplant to disease diagnosis, hypoxia and higher LDH were associated with mortality (P < 0.05). Different immunosuppression reduction strategies, high dose parenteral corticosteroids use and various antiviral combinations did not demonstrate survival advantage. Similar finding was observed for studies reporting aggregated data.Conclusion. COVID-19 in kidney transplant patients is associated with high rate of disease severity and fatality. Higher LDH and longer time since transplantation predicted both disease severity and mortality. None of the COVID-19 specific treatment correlated with, or improved disease outcome in kidney transplant recipients.

COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients: A systematic review of cancer, hematopoietic cell and solid organ transplant patients

BACKGROUND

The clinical impact of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in immunocompromised patients has not been systematically evaluated.

METHODS

We reviewed current literature reporting on COVID-19 in cancer (CA), hematopoietic cell (HCT), and solid organ transplant (SOT) patients and compared their clinical data and outcomes to the general population. For adult CA, HCT and SOT patients, an extensive search strategy retrieved all articles published until July 20, 2020 by combining the terms coronavirus, coronavirus infection, COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 in PubMed, Cochrane, and Web of Science, and following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines. For the pediatric CA cohort, a global COVID-19 registry was used. For the general population cohort, a large meta-analysis was used to compare pooled prevalence estimates, and two large meta-analyses were utilized to serve as pooled comparators for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

FINDINGS

Compared to the general population, adult CA and SOT patients with COVID-19 had higher comorbidities, greater levels of inflammatory markers at diagnosis, and higher rates of intensive care and hospital mortality. Pediatric CA patients and HCT patients with COVID-19 tended to have clinical presentations and outcomes similar to the general population.

INTERPRETATION

To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review evaluating COVID-19 phenotype and outcomes in immunocompromised patients and comparing them to the general population, which shows that hospital outcomes appear to be worse in adult CA and SOT patients, potentially due to their higher co-morbidity burden.

FUNDING

None.

Effect of immunosuppression maintenance in solid organ transplant recipients with COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of continuing immune suppressive therapy in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19).

Methods

Systematic review and meta‐analysis of data on 202 SOTR with COVID‐19, published as case reports or case series. We extracted clinical, hemato‐chemical, imaging, treatment, and outcome data.

Results

Most patients were kidney recipients (61.9%), males (68.8%), with median age of 57 years. The majority was on tacrolimus (73.5%) and mycophenolate (65.8%). Mortality was 18.8%, but an equal proportion was still hospitalized at last follow up. Immune suppressive therapy was withheld in 77.2% of patients, either partially or completely. Tacrolimus was continued in 50%. One third of survivors that continued immunosuppressants were on dual therapy plus steroids. None of those who continued immunosuppressants developed critical COVID‐19 disease. Age (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1‐1.11, P = .001) and lopinavir/ritonavir use (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.2‐8.5, P = .013) were independent predictors of mortality while immunosuppression maintenance (OR 0.067, 95% CI 0.008‐0.558, P = .012) and tacrolimus continuation (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1‐0.7, P = .013) were independent predictors of survival.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that maintaining immune suppression might be safe in SOTR with moderate and severe COVID‐19. Specifically, receiving tacrolimus could be beneficial for COVID‐19 SOTR. Because of the quality of the available evidence, no definitive guidance on how to manage SOTR with COVID‐19 can be derived from our data.

Kidney Transplantation and COVID-19: Two Case Reports

Immunocompromised populations are at great risk of the current 2020 global emergency of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and treatment of kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 is currently not declared. Hence, the purpose of the study is to set a clear treatment regimen. We report here a therapeutic course of 2 patients who underwent transplant surgery in March 2020 and got infected soon after. Since the transplant, these 2 patients have received triple maintenance immunosuppressive therapy with oral tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and prednisone, and they have been regularly followed up at our hospital. The tacrolimus trough level was between 10 and 12 ng/mL. After the diagnosis of COVID-19, MMF was stopped and the tacrolimus dose was reduced so that blood level was between 4 and 6 ng/mL. The first patient was a 30-year-old man who, despite being treated with hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir, oseltamivir, and azithromycin therapy, died because of the presence of other comorbidities. The second case was a 58-year-old man who fully recovered from COVID-19 pneumonia with treatment with methylprednisolone, MMF, azithromycin, favipiravir, hydroxychloroquine, and reduction in immunosuppression dosage. This reflects the importance of using glucocorticoids in the treatment of COVID-19 along with other medications and the decreased mortality rate associated with their use.

Management of immunosuppression in kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 pneumonia: A summary of 41 confirmed cases reported worldwide

There is no consensus on immunosuppression management for kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) with SARS‐CoV‐2 pneumonia. Therefore, we conducted a search in English database from October 2019 to July 2020 and extracted data from cases with treatment details worldwide, and total of 41 recipients with a median age of 50 years were enrolled in this study. Most of them were males (75.8%). The most common presenting symptoms were fever (80.5%), cough (63.4%), and fatigue (41.5%). Patients were classified into three catalogs according to severity of pneumonia: 17 (41.5%) were mild, 15 (36.6%) severe, and 9 (21.9%) critical disease. Laboratory tests revealed that serum creatinine of critical patients was significantly higher than that of mild or severe patients. 68.3% received oxygen support; all patients received antiviral therapy, and 15 (36.6%) recipients were additionally treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and interferon‐α. 19.5% of patients maintained immunosuppressive therapy; 36.6% suspended antimetabolite; and 43.9% only treated with corticosteroid. Six (14.6%) patients died (severe: 2, critical: 4); high creatinine with low lymphocyte count was the biggest challenge of immunosuppression management. In all, it is necessary to pay close attention to renal function and lymphocyte count in KTRs infected with COVID‐19 and choose appropriate medication programs according to the specific situations.