Outcomes of B-Cell-Depleted Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Treated With Antispike Monoclonal Antibodies

Convalescent Plasma for Immunocompromised Patients

COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) is an important therapeutic option for immunocompromised patients with COVID-19. Such patients are at increased risk for serious complications of infection and may also develop a unique syndrome of persistent infection. This article reviews the rationale for CCP utilization in immunocompromised patients and the evidence for its value in immunosuppressed patients with both acute and persistent COVID-19. Both historical precedence and understanding of the mechanisms of action of antibody treatment support this use, as do several lines of evidence derived from case series, comparative studies, randomized trials, and systematic reviews of the literature. A summary of recommendations from multiple practice guidelines is also provided.

An international multicenter study comparing COVID-19 omicron outcomes in patients with hematological malignancies treated with obinutuzumab versus rituximab

OBJECTIVES

Hematological malignancy (HM) patients treated with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies are at higher risk for severe COVID-19. A previous single-center study showed worse outcomes in patients treated with obinutuzumab compared to rituximab. We examined this hypothesis in a large international multicenter cohort.

METHODS

We included HM patients from 15 centers, from five countries treated with anti-CD20, comparing those treated with obinutuzumab (O-G) to rituximab (R-G) between December 2021 and June 2022, when Omicron lineage was dominant.

RESULTS

We collected data on 1048 patients. Within the R-G (n = 762, 73%), 191 (25%) contracted COVID-19 compared to 103 (36%) in the O-G. COVID-19 patients in the O-G were younger (61 ± 11.7 vs. 64 ± 14.5, p = 0.039), had more indolent HM diagnosis (aggressive lymphoma: 3.9% vs. 67.0%, p < 0.001), and most were on maintenance therapy at COVID-19 diagnosis (63.0% vs. 16.8%, p < 0.001). Severe-critical COVID-19 occurred in 31.1% of patients in the O-G and 22.5% in the R-G. In multivariable analysis, O-G had a 2.08-fold increased risk for severe-critical COVID-19 compared to R-G (95% CI 1.13-3.84), adjusted for Charlson comorbidity index, sex, and tixagevimab/cilgavimab (T-C) prophylaxis. Further analysis comparing O-G to R-G demonstrated increased hospitalizations (51.5% vs. 35.6% p = 0.008), ICU admissions (12.6% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.042), but the nonsignificant difference in COVID-19-related mortality (n = 10, 9.7% vs. n = 12, 6.3%, p = 0.293).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite younger age and a more indolent HM diagnosis, patients receiving obinutuzumab had more severe COVID-19 outcomes than those receiving rituximab. Our findings underscore the need to evaluate the risk-benefit balance when considering obinutuzumab therapy for HM patients during respiratory viral outbreaks.

Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation

While medical countermeasures in COVID-19 have largely focused on vaccinations, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were early outpatient treatment options for COVID-positive patients. In Minnesota, a centralized access platform was developed to offer access to mAbs that linked over 31,000 patients to care during its operation. The website allowed patients, their representative, or providers to screen the patient for mAbs against Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) criteria and connect them with a treatment site if provisionally eligible. A validated clinical risk scoring system was used to prioritize patients during times of scarcity. Both an ethics and a clinical subject matter expert group advised the Minnesota Department of Health on equitable approaches to distribution across a range of situations as the pandemic evolved. This case study outlines the implementation of this online platform and clinical outcomes of its users. We assess the impact of referral for mAbs on hospitalizations and death during a period of scarcity, finding in particular that vaccination conferred a substantially larger protection against hospitalization than a referral for mAbs, but among unvaccinated users that did not get a referral, chances of hospitalization increased by 4.1 percentage points.

Vaccines and therapeutics for immunocompromised patients with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted immunocompromised patients. This diverse group is at increased risk for impaired vaccine responses, progression to severe disease, prolonged hospitalizations and deaths. At particular risk are people with deficiencies in lymphocyte number or function such as transplant recipients and those with hematologic malignancies. Such patients' immune responses to vaccination and infection are frequently impaired leaving them more vulnerable to prolonged high viral loads and severe complications of COVID-19. Those in turn, have implications for disease progression and persistence, development of immune escape variants and transmission of infection. Data to guide vaccination and treatment approaches in immunocompromised people are generally lacking and extrapolated from other populations. The large clinical trials leading to authorisation and approval of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and therapeutics included very few immunocompromised participants. While experience is accumulating, studies focused on the special circumstances of immunocompromised patients are needed to inform prevention and treatment approaches.

Convalescent Plasma Treatment of Patients Previously Treated with B-Cell-Depleting Monoclonal Antibodies Suffering COVID-19 Is Associated with Reduced Re-Admission Rates

Patients receiving treatment with B-cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies, such as anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab and obinutuzumab, either for hematological disease or another diagnosis, such as a rheumatological disease, are at an increased risk for medical complications and mortality from COVID-19. Since inconsistencies persist regarding the use of convalescent plasma (CP), especially in the vulnerable patient population that has received previous treatment with B-cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies, further studies should be performed in thisdirection. The aim of the present study was to describe the characteristics of patients with previous use of B-cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies and describe the potential beneficial effects of CP use in terms of mortality, ICU admission and disease relapse. In this retrospective cohort study, 39 patients with previous use of B-cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies hospitalized in the COVID-19 department of a tertiary hospital in Greece were recorded and evaluated. The mean age was 66.3 years and 51.3% were male. Regarding treatment for COVID-19, remdesivir was used in 89.7%, corticosteroids in 94.9% and CP in 53.8%. In-hospital mortality was 15.4%. Patients who died were more likely to need ICU admission and also had a trend towards a longer hospital stay, even though the last did not reach statistical significance. Patients treated with CP had a lower re-admission rate for COVID-19 after discharge. Further studies should be performed to identify the role of CP in patients with treatment with B-cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies suffering from COVID-19.

COVID-19 in patients with B cell immune deficiency

This article aims to describe the clinical manifestations and management of COVID-19 in patients with primary and secondary B cell deficient states. We describe the epidemiologic and clinical features as well as unique management paradigm including isolation precautions with COVID-19. We then focus upon primary and secondary preventive approaches including vaccination and pre- as well as post-exposure prophylaxis. Further, we elaborate upon the important disease specific risk factors in these patients and the need to conduct prospective clinical trials to develop individualized management strategies in this population.

Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19 pneumonia in a rituximab treated patient with systemic sclerosis—A case report and literature review

Patients with immune-mediated diseases (IMID) such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), who are treated with B cell depleting treatments, are at risk for developing severe COVID-19 due to inadequate humoral immune response. During B cell depletion, therapeutic substitution of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (mAbs) might be helpful to prevent severe COVID-19. It has been shown, that in non-IMID patients mABs reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load and lower the risk of COVID-19 associated hospitalization or death. However, there are limited data on the effect of mAbs in IMID patients after exposure, especially in patients treated with B cell depleting agents. Herein, we report a case of a rituximab treated SSc patient who developed COVID-19 and was successfully treated with a combination of mAbs (casirivimab/imdevimab). With this case we show that IMID patients may benefit from post-exposure administration of mAbs. In our case treatment with neutralizing autoantibodies was safe and a possible contributor in protecting the patient from mechanical ventilation and eventually death. We frame this case within the current evidence from the literature and provide a perspective on the future potential role of mAbs for treating IMID patients suffering from COVID-19.

Detection of viable SARS-CoV-2 in deep respiratory specimens despite negative nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR: Occult COVID-19 as an unsuspected cause of pulmonary infiltrates in immunocompromised patients

Background

Prolonged shedding/relapse of COVID-19 infection has been reported, particularly in patients who received anti-CD20 agents (eg. rituximab). However, cases of occult COVID-19, in which SARS-CoV-2 persistence in lung parenchyma is diagnosed despite clearance from nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens, are uncommon.

Case summary

We describe two cases of occult COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients. Both patients had received rituximab previously. Both cases initially presented as ground-glass infiltrates on lung imaging; the diagnosis was originally not suspected due to repeated demonstration of negative SARS-CoV-2 from NP specimens, and alternative etiologies were originally considered. Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in lung parenchyma, however, was demonstrated on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens; additionally, isolation of viable SARS-CoV-2 virus and detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike-protein antigen in lung tissue on immunohistochemistry close to 3-months from primary infection strongly suggested ongoing viral persistence and replication as a driver of the lung parenchymal changes, which resolved after antiviral treatment.

Discussion

Occult COVID-19 can be a cause of unexplained ground-glass infiltrates on lung imaging; negative NP samples do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 persistence and invasive sampling must be considered. The unsuspected presence of viable virus on BAL, however, highlights that procedurists perfoming aerosol-generating-procedures during an ongoing pandemic wave must also practise appropriate infection-prevention precautions to limit potential exposure.