SARS-CoV-2 and pediatric solid organ transplantation: Current knowns and unknowns

Research Progress in Pediatric Lung Transplantation: A Bibliometric Analysis

Pediatric lung transplantation is considered to be an effective treatment for end-stage lung disease in children, and this study mainly conducts a bibliometric analysis in the field of pediatric lung transplantation.We used the web of science databases to perform a bibliometric analysis of the progress of research in the field of pediatric lung transplantation from 1996 to 2024. In addition, we used VOSviewer software and the "bibliometrix" package in R to visualize and analyze the authors, countries, journals, institutions, and keywords of the literature.We identified 359 literature studies related to pediatric lung transplantation, which were cited 6,387 times by 1,400 journals. The journal with the highest number of average citations was the "New England Journal of Medicine," while the journals with the highest number of publications were the "Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation and Pediatric Transplantation." The United States was the country with the highest number of publications (64.3%), followed by the United Kingdom (11.1%) and Canada (8.08%).Research in the field of pediatric lung transplantation is currently on the rise, while research is still dominated by developed countries, with most developing countries in their infancy. Against the background of COVID-19 and global health challenges, the unique need for pediatric lung transplantation is becoming a trend.

Pediatric transplantation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Children infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seem to have a better prognosis than adults. Nevertheless, pediatric solid organ transplantation (SOT) has been significantly affected by the unprecedented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic during the pre-, peri-, and post-transplant period. Undoubtedly, immunosuppression constitutes a real challenge for transplant clinicians as increased immunosuppression may prolong disease recovery, while its decrease can contribute to more severe symptoms. To date, most pediatric SOT recipients infected by SARS-CoV-2 experience mild disease with only scarce reports of life-threatening complications. As a consequence, after an initial drop during the early phase of the pandemic, pediatric SOTs are now performed with the same frequency as during the pre-pandemic period. This review summarizes the currently available evidence regarding pediatric SOT during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eligibility criteria for pediatric patients who may benefit from anti SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody therapy administration: an Italian inter-society consensus statement

The fast diffusion of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have called for an equally rapid evolution of the therapeutic options.The Human recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) in subjects aged ≥12 with SARS-CoV-2 infection and specific risk factors.Currently the indications are specific for the use of two different mAbs combination: Bamlanivimab+Etesevimab (produced by Eli Lilly) and Casirivimab+Imdevimab (produced by Regeneron).These drugs have shown favorable effects in adult patients in the initial phase of infection, whereas to date few data are available on their use in children.AIFA criteria derived from the existing literature which reports an increased risk of severe COVID-19 in children with comorbidities. However, the studies analyzing the determinants for progression to severe disease are mainly monocentric, with limited numbers and reporting mostly generic risk categories.Thus, the Italian Society of Pediatrics invited its affiliated Scientific Societies to produce a Consensus document based on the revision of the criteria proposed by AIFA in light of the most recent literature and experts' agreement.This Consensus tries to detail which patients actually have the risk to develop severe disease, analyzing the most common comorbidities in children, in order to detail the indications for mAbs administration and to guide the clinicians in identifying eligible patients.