Infections among pediatric transplant candidates: An approach to decision-making

Child Organ Offer Process (cOOPS): Understanding Infectious Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategies

INTRODUCTION

Pediatric Infectious Disease (PID) clinicians involved in solid organ transplantation often assess infection risk and mitigation strategies for donor organ offers. While some guidance is available, real-life practice patterns have not been previously described.

METHODS

We surveyed PID clinicians about organ acceptance and associated posttransplantation interventions using 12 fictitious pediatric case scenarios through 3 PID-specific listservs. Descriptive statistics were employed.

RESULTS

48 (71.6%) of 67 ID respondents were involved in organ offer assessment. Agreement was strong (> 80%) to accept (syphilis, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2], MRSA, E. coli, TB [liver], rhino/enterovirus) or decline (undifferentiated encephalitis, TB [lung]) organs from these cases, while there was less agreement for cases with risk of coccidioidomycosis, Chagas disease, multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and influenza. Less agreement was present for posttransplant monitoring and antimicrobial administration. Practice varied in testing and treatment for donors with SARS-CoV-2 positive test, MRSA bacteremia, and Chagas disease.

CONCLUSIONS

For many pediatric organ offer scenarios, agreement in donor acceptance was high; however, improved education based on currently available recommendations may enhance organ acceptance decision-making. The variability in management highlights educational and research opportunities to optimize strategies to limit the impact of donor-derived infections in pediatric organ recipients.

Emergency department evaluation of transplanted children with COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Children usually have an asymptomatic or mild course of SARS-CoV-2 infection, studies in immunocompromised patients have shown a different evolution. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, laboratory, and radiologic manifestations of pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.

METHODS

A multicenter retrospective, observational descriptive study was conducted in 3 tertiary hospitals in Madrid (Spain) between March 2020 and December 2022. Consecutive patients aged 0-18 attending the corresponding pediatric emergency departments with a positive result in the real-time polymerase chain reaction test or antigenic test to detect SARS-CoV-2 in the nasopharyngeal sample were included.

RESULTS

A total of 31 children were included in the study. Sixteen (51.6%) were patients with HSCT and 15 (48.3) were patients with SOT. The median time from transplantation to COVID-19 was 1.2 years (IQR:0.5-5.1). The SOT cohort included liver (n = 4, 12.9%), kidney (n = 4, 12.9%), heart (n = 3, 9.7%), multivisceral (n = 3, 9.7%), and lung (n = 1, 3.2%). Of the 31 patients, only one was asymptomatic. The most common symptom on presentation was fever (76.7%). Abnormalities were seen on chest X-ray in 8 (66.6%) of the 12 patients. There was no significant difference in clinical manifestations, lymphopenia and radiological findings regardless of the type of transplantation or immunosuppression status. Thirteen patients (41.9%) were hospitalized. There were no patient deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study, we found that the clinical course and outcome of SOT and HSCT pediatric patients with COVID-19 were generally favorable.

Impact of Respiratory Viral Infections in Transplant Recipients

Respiratory viral infections (RVIs) are among the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) and solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Transplant recipients remain at high risk for super imposed bacterial and fungal pneumonia, chronic graft dysfunction, and graft failure as a result of RVIs. Recent multicenter retrospective studies and prospective studies utilizing contemporary molecular diagnostic techniques have better delineated the epidemiology and outcomes of RVIs in pediatric transplant recipients and have advanced the development of preventative vaccines and treatment interventions in this population. In this review, we will define the epidemiology and outcomes of RVIs in SOT and HSCT recipients, describe the available assays for diagnosing a suspected RVI, highlight evolving management and vaccination strategies, review the risk of donor derived RVI in SOT recipients, and discuss considerations for delaying transplantation in the presence of an RVI.

Pre-Transplantation Strategies for Infectious Disease Mitigation and Prevention

Pediatric Infectious Disease (ID) clinicians play a critical role in helping prevent and mitigate infectious risks in children peri- and post-transplantation. Prevention starts during the pre-transplant evaluation and persists throughout the solid organ transplant and hematopoietic cell transplant continuum. The pre-transplant evaluation is an opportunity to screen for latent infections, plan preventative strategies, optimize immunizations, and discuss risk mitigation practices. An ideal pre-transplant evaluation establishes a relationship with the family that further promotes post-transplant infectious risk reduction. This manuscript builds on shared pediatric ID prevention strategies, introduces updated ID testing recommendations for transplant donors/candidates, highlights emerging data, and identifies ongoing knowledge gaps that are potential areas of research.

Live vaccines after pediatric solid organ transplant: Proceedings of a consensus meeting, 2018

Growing evidence suggests receipt of live-attenuated viral vaccines after solid organ transplant (SOT) has occurred and is safe and needed due to lapses in herd immunity. A 2-day consortium of experts in infectious diseases, transplantation, vaccinology, and immunology was held with the objective to review evidence and create expert recommendations for clinicians when considering live viral vaccines post-SOT. For consideration of VV and MMR post-transplant, evidence exists only for kidney and liver transplant recipients. For MMR vaccine post-SOT, consider vaccination during outbreak or travel to endemic risk areas. Patients who have received antiproliferative agents (eg. mycophenolate mofetil), T cell-depleting agents, or rituximab; or have persistently elevated EBV viral loads, or are in a state of functional tolerance, should be vaccinated with caution and have a more in-depth evaluation to define benefit of vaccination and net state of immune suppression prior to considering vaccination. MMR and/or VV (not combined MMRV) is considered to be safe in patients who are clinically well, are greater than 1 year after liver or kidney transplant and 2 months after acute rejection episode, can be closely monitored, and meet specific criteria of "low-level" immune suppression as defined in the document.

Community-Acquired Respiratory Viruses in Transplant Patients: Diversity, Impact, Unmet Clinical Needs

Patients undergoing solid-organ transplantation (SOT) or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) are at increased risk for infectious complications. Community-acquired respiratory viruses (CARVs) pose a particular challenge due to the frequent exposure pre-, peri-, and posttransplantation. Although influenza A and B viruses have a top priority regarding prevention and treatment, recent molecular diagnostic tests detecting an array of other CARVs in real time have dramatically expanded our knowledge about the epidemiology, diversity, and impact of CARV infections in the general population and in allogeneic HCT and SOT patients. These data have demonstrated that non-influenza CARVs independently contribute to morbidity and mortality of transplant patients. However, effective vaccination and antiviral treatment is only emerging for non-influenza CARVs, placing emphasis on infection control and supportive measures. Here, we review the current knowledge about CARVs in SOT and allogeneic HCT patients to better define the magnitude of this unmet clinical need and to discuss some of the lessons learned from human influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenzavirus, rhinovirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, and bocavirus regarding diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.