Etiological profile of diarrhea in solid organ transplant recipients at a tertiary care center in Southern India

PCR-based versus conventional stool tests in children with diarrhea who underwent solid organ transplantation or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Infectious diarrhea is a common problem among post-transplant recipients. Compared to conventional tests, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based stool tests have been shown to improve diagnostic yield but the aforementioned data in children remain limited. Our aims were to assess the detection rate of PCR-based tests in post-transplant children and compare with the conventional tests; and to investigate how these stool tests help in managing these children. We enrolled children aged 1 to 19 years who underwent solid organ transplantation or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation that remained on immunosuppressive agents and developed diarrhea ≥ 24 hours between January 2015 and February 2023. Besides stool tests, data on demographics, clinical characteristics and management were collected. We analyzed 68 patients and 92 episodes of diarrhea with PCR-based tests. PCR-based tests provided a detection rate of 41.8% versus 16.5% for the conventional tests. While conventional tests may detect a higher proportion of Clostridiodes difficile infection, PCR-based tests showed greater yields in detecting Salmonella spp. and viruses especially norovirus. PCR-based tests had an impact in management among 22/38 (58%) diarrheal episodes especially with Campylobacter jejuni and C difficile; and among 16 episodes that positive PCR-based tests had a minimal impact, the most common reason was due to the need for continuation of antimicrobial agents for concomitant site-specific infection (69%). Among transplanted children presenting with diarrhea, PCR-based tests provide a higher yield when compared with the conventional tests. The PCR-based stool tests may also further guide clinicians for providing proper antimicrobial agents.

Diarrhea in pediatric recipients of solid organ or bone marrow transplants

Diarrhea is common in adults after solid organ transplantation (SOT) and bone marrow transplantation (BMT), but data in children are limited. Therefore, we aimed to determine the incidence and etiology of pediatric early-onset diarrhea in post SOT and BMT.We reviewed children aged 6 months to 18 years who underwent liver transplantation, kidney transplantation or BMT between January 2015 and December 2019 with duration of diarrhea > 72 hours within the first 6 months after transplantation. Clinical data and diarrheal course were collected. Regression analyses were performed to define factors associated with the interested outcomes.Among 252 transplanted patients, 168 patients (66.6%) had 289 documented episodes of diarrhea. A diagnosis of 68.2% of post-transplant diarrhea remained 'indefinite'. Enteric infection in SOT and gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease (GI-aGVHD) in BMT were the commonly identified etiologies. Among 182 episodes among BMT children, skin rash was more pronounced when compared the ones with diarrhea > 7 days vs ≤ 7 days (odds ratio [OR] 13.9; 95% CI 1.8, 107.6). Males were more likely to develop GI-aGVHD as compared to females (OR 8.9). We found that GI-aGVHD was more common in the ones with skin rash and the presence of white blood cells in stool examination (OR 8.4 and 3.1, respectively). Deaths occurred in 7.7%.Two-thirds of post-transplant children experienced at least one episode of early-onset diarrhea, of which the etiology mainly remains undefined. Various clinical factors of prolonged/chronic diarrhea and GI-aGVHD may help clinicians when managing these children.