COVID-19 and Abdominal Transplant: A Stepwise Approach to Practice During Pandemic Conditions

Syed SM, Gardner J, Roll G, et al.
Transplantation: June 29, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Early Impact of COVID-19 on Solid Organ Transplantation in the United States

Cholankeril G, Podboy A, Alshuwaykh OS, et al.
Transplantation: July 14, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Early Experience With COVID-19 and Solid Organ Transplantation at a US High-volume Transplant Center

Yi SG, Rogers AW, Saharia A et al.
Transplantation: June 1, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Outcomes of Renal Transplant Recipients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Eye of the Storm: A Comparative Study With Waitlisted Patients

Mohamed IH, Chowdary, Prashanth B, Shetty S, et al.
Transplantation: July 31, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Global Transplantation COVID Report March 2020

Ahn C, Amer H; Anglicheau D, et al.
Transplantation: April 1, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Additional Suggestions for Organ Donation During COVID-19 Outbreak

Vargas M, Iacovazzo C, Servillo G.
Transplantation: May 11, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Influence of asymptomatic carriers with COVID-19 on transplantation resumption in Wuhan

Bian X, Fan X, Wang Y.
Transplantation: June 19, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Position Statement of Transplant activity in the Middle East in era of COVID-19 Pandemic

Zidan A, Alabbad SA, Tariq A, et al.
Transplantation: June 9, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

Ethical Issues in the COVID Era: Doing the Right Thing Depends on Location, Resources, and Disease Burden

Stock PG, Wall A, Gardner J, et al.
Transplantation: July 2020 - Volume 104 - Issue 7 - p 1316-1320

The Impact of COVID-19 on the State of Clinical and Laboratory Research Globally in Transplantation in May 2020

Bromberg J, Baan C, Chapman J, et al.
Transplantation: June 11, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

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EFFECT OF REMDESIVIR VS STANDARD CARE ON CLINICAL STATUS AT 11 DAYS IN PATIENTS WITH MODERATE COVID-19A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Christoph Spinner et al.
JAMA. Published online August 21, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.16349

This is a randomized, open-label trial of hospitalized patients with confirmed severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and moderate COVID-19 pneumonia (pulmonary infiltrates and room-air oxygen saturation >94%) enrolled from March 15 through April 18, 2020, at 105 hospitals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Patients were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive a 10-day course of remdesivir (n = 197), a 5-day course of remdesivir (n = 199), or standard care (n = 200). Remdesivir was dosed intravenously at 200 mg on day 1 followed by 100 mg/d. On day 11, patients in the 5-day remdesivir group had statistically significantly higher odds of a better clinical status distribution than those receiving standard care. The clinical status distribution on day 11 between the 10-day remdesivir and standard care groups was not significantly different. By day 28, 9 patients had died: 2 (1%) in the 5-day remdesivir group, 3 (2%) in the 10-day remdesivir group, and 4 (2%) in the standard care group. The mortality overall was very low in this study whether the patients enrolled in the treatment group or not compared to previous publications.

CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND RISK FACTORS FOR SEVERE COVID-19 IN HOSPITALIZED KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS: A MULTICENTRIC COHORT STUDY

Favà A et al.
American Journal of Transplantation: doi: 10.1111/AJT.16246

This is a multicentric kidney transplant cohort including 104 hospitalized patients between Mar 4 and Apr 17, 2020. Seventy-six (73%) patients were discharged while 28 (27%) died. Death was more common among the elderly (55yr and 70.8yr, p<0.001) and those with preexisting pulmonary disease (OR 2.89 , p=0.009). At admission, higher baseline lactate dehydrogenase (257 IU/ml vs 358 IU/ml, p=0.001) or ARDS conferred higher risk of death (HR 2.09, p=0.044).

EFFECTS OF A MAJOR DELETION IN THE SARS-COV-2 GENOME ON THE SEVERITY OF INFECTION AND THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE: AN OBSERVATIONAL COHORT STUDY

Barnaby Young et al.
Lancet: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31757-8

This study identified patients who had been screened for the ∆382 variant. Between Jan 22 and March 21, 2020, 278 patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were screened for the ∆382 deletion and 131 were enrolled onto the study, of whom 92 (70%) were infected with the wild-type virus, ten (8%) had a mix of wild-type and ∆382-variant viruses, and 29 (22%) had only the ∆382 variant. Development of hypoxia requiring supplemental oxygen was less frequent in the ∆382 variant group (0 [0%] of 29 patients) than in the wild-type only group (26 [28%] of 92; absolute difference 28% [95% CI 14–28]). After adjusting for age and presence of comorbidities, infection with the ∆382 variant only was associated with lower odds of developing hypoxia requiring supplemental oxygen (adjusted odds ratio 0·07 [95% CI 0·00–0·48]) compared with infection with wild-type virus only.

SARS‐COV‐2 INFECTION AND EARLY MORTALITY OF WAIT‐LISTED AND SOLID ORGAN TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS IN ENGLAND: A NATIONAL COHORT STUDY

Rommel Ravanan et al.
American Journal of Transplantation: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.16247

In a comprehensive national cohort study enabled by linkage of the UK transplant registry and Public Health England and NHS Digital Tracing services we examined the incidence of laboratory confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and subsequent mortality in patients on the active waiting list for a deceased donor SOT and recipients with a functioning SOT as of 1st February 2020 with follow up to 20th May 20202. Univariate and multivariable techniques were used to compare differences between groups and to control for case‐mix. 197 (3·8%) of the 5,184 wait‐listed patients and 597 (1·3%) of the 46,789 SOT recipients tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. Mortality after testing positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 was 10·2% (20/197) for wait‐listed patients and 25·8% (154/597) for SOT recipients. Increasing recipient age was the only variable independently associated with death after positive SARS‐CoV‐2 test. Of the 1004 transplants performed in 2020, 41 (4·1%) recipients have tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 with 8 (0·8%) deaths reported by 20th May.

Aug. 17 - Patients undergoing kidney transplantation are at risk for new-onset diabetes after transplantation(NODAT). Z. Li and colleagues at the Kidney Disease Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, conducted a study designed to examine the risk factors for NODAT and to evaluate early graft function via pre-transplant oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and post-transplant blood glucose state.

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Aug. 17 - A new app, AlloCare from CareDx uses AI and machine learning to help transplant patients track, monitor and manage their daily medicine doses, blood pressure, urine output, sleep, steps and weight. The AI models input from each of these factors and gives the patient a daily tracking score to monitor their progress with their transplant goals and take an active role in monitoring their organ health.

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Aug. 17 - A research team from the University Hospital at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has developed a test that provides information on the immune response to the novel coronavirus in patients who need to take immunosuppressive drugs.

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Aug. 17 - Immunoglobulin A nephrology (IgAN) is the most common biopsy-proven glomerular disease. Patients who develop IgAN following kidney transplantation commonly experience allograft loss. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between corticosteroid maintenance and a lower risk of recurrent glomerulonephritis, including IgAN.

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In accordance with the TTS By-Laws, a Business Meeting will be held shortly after the close of the TTS 2020 Virtual Congress. The meeting will be help on Sunday, September 20, at 8 AM Montreal time and will last approximately one hour. The agenda will include an update on the TTS finances, the announcement of the TTS 2024 Congress location, a presentation for the TTS 2022 Congress in Buenos Aires, the announcement of the 2020-2022 Councilors and Officers and the official change of TTS Presidency. All members are invited to participate.

As this meeting will be virtually, we will send all members a link to join this meeting shortly before the meeting takes place.

Sincerely,

John Fung
Secretary, The Transplantation Society

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TTS members are invited to attend the FOCIS 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting – THE meeting in translational immunology!

The Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies exists to improve human health through immunology.

The FOCIS 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting on October 28-31, 2020, brings together an interdisciplinary group of world-renowned physicians and researchers to share the latest findings on diseases impacting the immune system.

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