Engen RM, Bartosh SM. Long-term outcomes of two-dose alemtuzumab induction in pediatric kidney transplantation.
Pediatr Transplant 2024;
28:e14753. [PMID:
38623881 DOI:
10.1111/petr.14753]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Alemtuzumab is a lymphocyte depleting agent used for induction in kidney transplant, but long-term information on its use in pediatric recipients remains sparse.
METHODS
We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of 57 pediatric kidney transplant recipients receiving alemtuzumab 20 mg/m2/dose ×2 doses for induction immunosuppression. All patients underwent surveillance biopsies, and 91.3% underwent steroid withdrawal by day 4 post-transplant. Outcomes of interest included graft survival, development of donor specific antibodies (DSA), incidence of viremia and PTLD, and duration of lymphopenia.
RESULTS
Median follow-up time was 7.9 years (IQR 5-13.6 years). Median graft survival was 16.5 years (95% CI 11.6-unknown). DSA developed in 36.5% at a median of 944 days (IQR 252-2113 days). Incidences of BK polyomavirus DNAemia (BKPyV-DNAemia), CMV DNAemia, and EBV DNAemia were 38.6%, 22.8%, and 14%, respectively; one patient developed PTLD at 13.3 years post-transplant. Median duration of lymphopenia was 365 days (IQR 168-713 days); 19.3% of patients remained lymphopenic at 3 years post-transplant. There was no association between duration of lymphopenia and graft survival, rejection, DSA detection, or viremia.
CONCLUSIONS
A two-dose alemtuzumab induction protocol can have excellent outcomes with a steroid-free maintenance immunosuppression regimen. More comprehensive, multicenter, comparative studies of pediatric kidney transplant are needed to improve long-term outcomes.
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