Interprofessional Team-based Care of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Patient With Hepatic Veno-occlusive Disease/Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome

Hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a well-recognized complication of allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The diagnosis and treatment of VOD/SOS require the involvement of multiple specialists covering a wide range of expertise. Interprofessional team-based medical care is standard practice for patients undergoing HCT and has been shown to improve patient and provider satisfaction, enhance efficiency, and improve patient outcomes, particularly for patients in complex medical situations like those with VOD/SOS post-HCT. Interdisciplinary team-based models focus on the synthesis and harmonization of knowledge and methods from different disciplines to create an integrative approach to patient care that both maximizes the expertise of each involved specialist and encourages thought beyond each specialist's discipline. Multidisciplinary team members provide additive support and work collaboratively with the core team to provide knowledge from their field. The composition of the interdisciplinary HCT team should center on the needs of the patient and institutional resources and involve the expertise of additional multidisciplinary team members based on clinical needs. This review focuses on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team-based care of patients with VOD/SOS post-HCT and provides an example of a collaborative VOD/SOS team that includes transplant physicians, nurses, pharmacists, nutrition/dietary specialists, and intensive care teams.

Two Cases of Veno-occlusive Disease/Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome After Thioguanine Treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a potentially life-threatening complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation conditioning or high-dose chemotherapy. The underlying pathogenesis involves toxic injury to hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells. Presenting symptoms include ascites, weight gain, hepatomegaly, and hyperbilirubinemia. Severe VOD/SOS with multiorgan failure has a mortality rate of >80% if left untreated. Thioguanine, a chemotherapy drug used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has been shown to cause VOD/SOS. Here, we describe cases of 2 patients who developed very severe VOD/SOS after starting thioguanine for acute lymphoblastic leukemia; both achieved complete remission with defibrotide and experienced no defibrotide-related adverse events.

Pooled analysis of Day 100 survival for defibrotide-treated patients with hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome and ventilator or dialysis dependence following haematopoietic cell transplantation

For patients with untreated hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD)/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) with multi-organ dysfunction (MOD), mortality is >80%. We conducted a pooled analysis of three studies that assessed Day 100 survival in relationship to MOD severity, with dialysis and/or ventilator dependence representing the most severe organ dysfunction. All patients in the analysis were diagnosed using Baltimore criteria/biopsy. This analysis of patients with VOD/SOS and MOD after haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT; n = 651) demonstrated higher Day 100 survival rates amongst defibrotide-treated patients with VOD/SOS with less versus more severe forms of MOD. Even patients with severe forms of MOD post-HCT benefitted from defibrotide.

Indirect costs associated with premature mortality among those with veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome with multiorgan dysfunction post-hematopoietic stem-cell-transplant

Purpose

The study objective was to develop an economic model to assess projected costs of lost productivity associated with premature deaths due to veno-occlusive disease (VOD)/ sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) with multiorgan dysfunction (MOD) among patients in the US who underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT) in 2013.

Methods

Data sources included the US Census Bureau and Department of Health, epidemiologic research organizations, and medical research literature. The model considered only lost productivity associated with premature death, with lifetime salary assumed to reflect productivity. Average annual salary was assumed to be the same for HSCT survivors and the general population, with a working age range between 18 and 65 years. Key data inputs included number of HSCTs by graft type (allogeneic and autologous) performed in the US in 2013, HSCT-related mortality, mortality associated with VOD/SOS with MOD, and life-expectancy reduction for HSCT survivors vs the general population. Excess mortality equaled total deaths among patients with VOD/SOS and MOD minus deaths in these patients due to causes other than VOD/SOS with MOD.

Results

Among 18,284 patients who underwent HSCT in the US in 2013, the model estimated that 361 excess deaths due to VOD/SOS with MOD occurred (158 following allogeneic and 203 after autologous transplants). These deaths accounted for total lost work productivity of 5,990 years and $124,212,173 in lost wages, averaging 17 years and $343,791 per patient. A sensitivity analysis incorporating adjustment factors for epidemiologic and economic inputs calculated total financial loss of $84 million to $194 million.

Limitation

Estimates of post-HSCT VOD/SOS with MOD incidence and mortality were approximated, due to changing HSCT practices.

Conclusion

Premature death due to VOD/SOS with MOD imposes a substantial economic burden in this population in terms of lost productivity. Additional studies of this economic burden are warranted.