Early use of teduglutide in paediatric patients with intestinal failure is associated with a greater response rate: a multicenter study.

Teduglutide is a glucagon-like-peptide-2 analogue that reduces the need for parenteral support in patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS). Nevertheless, data about long-term therapy with teduglutide in children are still scarce. Our objective was to describe the real-life experience with teduglutide in children with SBS over the last 5 years in Spain. This was a national multicentre and prospective study of paediatric patients with intestinal failure (IF) treated with teduglutide for at least 3 months. The data included demographic characteristics, medical background, anthropometric data, laboratory assessments, adverse events, and parenteral nutrition (PN) requirements. Treatment response was defined as a > 20% reduction in the PN requirement. The data were collected from the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database. Thirty-one patients from seven centres were included; the median age at the beginning of the treatment was 2.3 (interquartile range (IQR) 1.4-4.4) years; and 65% of the patients were males. The most frequent cause of IF was SBS (94%). The most common cause of SBS was necrotizing enterocolitis (35%). The median residual bowel length was 29 (IQR 12-40) cm. The median duration of teduglutide therapy was 19 (IQR 12-36) months, with 23 patients (74%) treated for > 1 year and 9 treated for > 3 years. The response to treatment was analysed in 30 patients. Twenty-four patients (80%) had a reduction in their weekly PN energy > 20% and 23 patients (77%) had a reduction in their weekly PN volume > 20%. Among the responders, 9 patients (29%) were weaned off PN, with a median treatment duration of 6 (IQR 4.5-22) months. The only statistically significant finding demonstrated an association between a > 20% reduction in the weekly PN volume and a younger age at the start of treatment (p = 0.028).   Conclusions: Teduglutide seems to be an effective and safe treatment for paediatric patients with IF. Some patients require a prolonged duration of treatment to achieve enteral autonomy. Starting treatment with teduglutide at a young age is associated with a higher response rate. What is Known: •  Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) plays a crucial role in the regulation of intestinal adaptation in short bowel syndrome (SBS). Teduglutide is a GLP-2 analog that reduces the need for parenteral support in patients with SBS. • Data about long-term therapy with teduglutide in children in real life are still scarce. What is New: • Most pediatric patients with SBS respond in a satisfactory manner to teduglutide treatment. The occurrence of long-term adverse effects is exceptional. • Starting treatment with the drug at a young age is associated with a greater response rate.

Antibody-removal therapies for de novo DSA in pediatric intestinal recipients: Why, when, and how? A single-center experience.

Background: Donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA) impact negatively on the outcome of intestinal grafts. Although the use of antibody-removal therapies (ART) is becoming more frequent in the last few years, issues regarding their timing and effectiveness remain under discussion. Methods: In the present study, we report our experience with eight ART procedures (based on plasmapheresis, intravenous immunoglobulin, and rituximab) in eight pediatric intestinal and multivisceral transplants with de novo DSA (dnDSA). Results: ART were performed when dnDSA appeared in two contexts: (1) concomitant with rejection (acute or chronic) or (2) without rejection or any other clinical symptom. Complete DSA removal was observed in seven out of eight patients, showing an effectiveness of 88%. In the group treated for dnDSA without clinical symptoms, the success rate was 100%, with complete DSA removal and without rejection afterward. A shorter time between DSA detection and ART performance appeared as a significant factor for the success of the therapy (p = 0.0002). DSA against HLA-A and DQ alleles were the most resistant to ART, whereas anti-DR DSA were the most sensitive. In addition, the 8-year allograft survival rate in recipients undergoing ART was similar to that in those without DSA, being significantly lower in non-treated DSA-positive recipients (p = 0.013). Conclusion: The results confirm the effectiveness of ART in terms of DSA removal and allograft survival and encourage its early use even in the absence of clinical symptoms.

Delayed introduction of sirolimus in paediatric intestinal transplant recipients: indications and long-term benefits.

To review our experience using sirolimus in a single centre paediatric intestinal transplantation cohort. Intestinal transplant patients with more than 3 months follow-up were divided into two groups according to their immunosuppression regimen: tacrolimus, (TAC group, n = 45 grafts) or sirolimus (SRL group, n = 38 grafts), which included those partially or completely converted from tacrolimus to sirolimus. The indications to switch were tacrolimus side effects and immunological complications. Survival and complications were retrospectively analysed comparing both groups. SRL was introduced 9 months (0 months-16.9 years) after transplant. The main cause for conversion was worsening renal function (45%), followed by haemolytic anaemia (21%) and graft-versus-host-disease (16%). Both groups showed a similar overall patient/graft survival (P = 0.76/0.08) and occurrence of rejection (24%/17%, P = 0.36). Immunological complications did not recur after conversion. Renal function significantly improved in most SRL patients. After a median follow-up of 65.17 months, 28/46 survivors were on SRL, 26 with monotherapy, with good graft function. Over one-third of our patients eventually required SRL conversion that allowed to improve their kidney function and immunological events, without entailing additional complications or survival impairment. Further trials are warranted to clarify the potential improvement of the standard tacrolimus maintenance by sirolimus conversion or addition.

Experience With Teduglutide in Pediatric Short Bowel Syndrome: First Real-life Data.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to describe the experience with teduglutide of several Spanish hospitals in pediatric patients with SBS (SBS). METHODS: Seventeen pediatric patients with intestinal failure associated with SBS were treated with teduglutide. Patients received 0.05 mg ·â€Škg ·â€Šday of subcutaneous teduglutide. Patients' demographics and changes in parenteral nutrition (PN) needs, fecal losses, and citrulline level initially and at 3, 6, and 12 months were collected, as well as any adverse events. RESULTS: Patients were receiving 55 ml ·â€Škg ·â€Šday and 33 kcal ·â€Škg ·â€Šday of parenteral supplementation on average at baseline (2 patients received only hydroelectrolytic solution). A total of 12/17 patients achieved parenteral independence: 3 patients after 3 months of treatment, 4 patients at 6 months, and 5 after 12 months. One patient discontinued treatment 1 year after the beginning as no changes in parenteral support or fecal losses were obtained. All others decreased their intravenous requirements by 50%. One patient suffered an episode of cholecystitis, and another one with a pre-existing cardiac disease, developed a cardiac decompensation. CONCLUSIONS: Teduglutide seems to be a safe and effective treatment in the pediatric SBS population with better results than in the pivotal study as well as in the adult population.

Fallo intestinal en adultos y niños / No disponible

El fallo intestinal (FI) es poco frecuente, pero representa una de las patologías de manejo médico-quirúrgico más complejo tanto en adultos como en niños. El tratamiento de primera línea sigue siendo la nutrición parenteral (NP). No obstante, en las últimas décadas, con el auge de los equipos multidisciplinares y el desarrollo de las nuevas terapias hormonales, como primer abordaje no sintomático del FI se abren nuevas alternativas en el campo de la rehabilitación intestinal

No disponible

Intestinal failure in adults and children.

Intestinal failure (IF) is rare, but it represents one of the most complex medical-surgical management pathologies, both in adults and children. The first-line treatment is parenteral nutrition (PN). However, new alternatives in the field of intestinal rehabilitation have opened up in recent decades, with the rise of multidisciplinary teams and the development of new hormone therapies as the first non-symptomatic approach to IF.