A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Seasonal human coronaviruses respiratory tract infection in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Piñana JL, Xhaard A, Tridello G, Passweg J, Kozijn A, Polverelli N, Heras I, Perez A, Sanz J, Berghuis D, Vázquez L, Suárez-Lledó M, Itäla-Remes M, Ozcelik T, Iturrate Basarán I, Al Zahrani M, Karakukcu M, Cuesta Casas MA, Choi G, Viviana A, Batlle Massana M, Ganser A, Blijlevens N, Labussière-Wallet H, Kuskonmaz B, Arzu Yegin Z, Shaw PJ, Rocha V, González-Vicent M, Knelange N, Ferster A, de la Camara R, Styczynski J, Navarro D, Mikulska M, Styczynski J; Infectious Diseases Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Infectious Complications Subcommittee of the Spanish Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapy Group
Publication year: 2021
Journal: Journal of Infectious Diseases
Journal name in source: The Journal of infectious diseases
Journal acronym: J Infect Dis
ISSN: 0022-1899
eISSN: 1537-6613
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa553
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7499673/
BackgroundLittle is known about characteristics of seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) (NL63, 229E, OC43, and HKU1) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).
MethodsThis was a collaborative Spanish and European bone marrow transplantation retrospective multicenter study, which included allo-HSCT recipients (adults and children) with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) and/or lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by seasonal HCoV diagnosed through multiplex polymerase chain reaction assays from January 2012 to January 2019.
ResultsWe included 402 allo-HSCT recipients who developed 449 HCoV URTD/LRTD episodes. Median age of recipients was 46 years (range, 0.3–73.8 years). HCoV episodes were diagnosed at a median of 222 days after transplantation. The most common HCoV subtype was OC43 (n = 170 [38%]). LRTD involvement occurred in 121 episodes (27%). HCoV infection frequently required hospitalization (18%), oxygen administration (13%), and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (3%). Three-month overall mortality after HCoV detection was 7% in the whole cohort and 16% in those with LRTD. We identified 3 conditions associated with higher mortality in recipients with LRTD: absolute lymphocyte count <0.1 × 109/mL, corticosteroid use, and ICU admission (hazard ratios: 10.8, 4.68, and 8.22, respectively; P < .01).
ConclusionsSeasonal HCoV after allo-HSCT may involve LRTD in many instances, leading to a significant morbidity.
