Bacteraemia post-autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the absence of antibacterial prophylaxis: a decade's experience from Lebanon

Epidemiology of early infections and predictors of mortality after autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation among multiple myeloma, Hodgkin, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the first experience from Palestine

BACKGROUND

Autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the standard of care in many relapsed and refractory lymphoid malignancy, neuroblastoma, and multiple myeloma (MM). This study was conducted to describe the epidemiology of early infections that occurred within the first 100 days among patients who received HSCT for MM, Hodgkin (HL), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Palestine.

METHODS

This study was conducted in a retrospective cohort design in the only autologous HSCT in Palestine in the period between 2014 and 2021. The medical records of the patients were reviewed to identify and collect demographic, clinical, and microbiological data on bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections as diagnosed by cultures, polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescent antibody testing.

RESULTS

A total of 145 patients were included in this study (median age = 44.0 [28.0, 53.5] years). Of those, 8 (5.5%) were younger than 18 years, 69 (47.6%) had MM, 53 (36.6%) had HL, and 23 (15.9%) had NHL. The source of fever had no focus in the majority of the cases 82 (56.6%), 12 (8.3%) had bloodstream infections, 8 (5.5%) had colitis, and 7.6 (5.0%) had pneumonia. Patients from whom gram-negative bacteria were isolated stayed in the hospital for longer duration compared to the other patients (median = 21.0 [19.0, 25.0] vs. 18.0 [15.0, 22.0] days, p-value = 0.043, respectively). The cumulative incidence of death in the first 100 days after infusion of stem cells was 3.4%. The cumulative incidence of death in the first 100 days post-transplantation was higher for patients with NHL compared to those with HL and MM (p-value = 0.017). Gram-negative and fungal infections were strong predictors of mortality.

CONCLUSION

Bacterial gram-positive and gram-negative infections were the most common early infections among patients who underwent autologous HSCT for hematological malignancies (HM) in the only center in Palestine. The findings of this study are informative to healthcare providers and planners of care for patients who are scheduled to receive autologous HSCT for HM.

Pre-engraftment infectious complications and patient outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: a single-center experience from Lebanon

BACKGROUND

Infectious complications are significant causes of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). They occur variably over different periods, with scant data reported from Lebanon and neighboring countries. In this study, we described the pre-engraftment neutropenic phase, febrile episodes, and peri-transplant medical complications in patients undergoing allo-HCT at a tertiary-care hospital.

METHODS

This is a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent allo-HCT between 2007 and 2016 at Makassed General Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. Data were extracted from medical records, the HCT registry, and medical laboratory logbooks.

RESULTS

One hundred and six patients were included, 75% having hematologic malignancies and 13% aplastic anemia. None received antibacterial prophylaxis with fluoroquinolones. Yet from conditioning chemotherapy till the say before HCT, 32% of the patients received broad-spectrum antibiotics (BSA) due to fever or infection. At the day of cell infusion, 41.5% of the patients were on BSA. Neutrophil engraftment failure was recorded in 8% of the patients. The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment bacteremia and Gram-negative bacteremia was 14.3 and 7.1%, respectively. Aplastic anemia was an independent risk factor for pre-engraftment bacteremia [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.29-11.5), P = 0.02]. The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment pneumonia was 11.2%. Patient age significantly increased the risk of pre-engraftment pneumonia [HR = 12.35, 95% CI (1.27-120.50), P = 0.03]. Six-month post-transplant mortality reached 17% in our cohort. Myelodysplastic syndrome was the only significant parameter increasing the risk of death [HR = 3.40, 95% CI (1.05-10.98), P = 0.04].

CONCLUSION

The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment bacteremia and pneumonia was 14.3% and 11.2% respectively in this cohort. Aplastic anemia predicted for the occurrence of bacteremia, increasing patient age contributed to the occurrence of pneumonia, and myelodysplastic syndrome increased the risk of death.