Letermovir for Cytomegalovirus infection in pediatric patients undergoing allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a real-life study by the Infectious Diseases Working Group of Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology (AIEOP).

Letermovir prophylaxis revolutionized the approach to Cytomegalovirus infection in adult hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT), while data in pediatric setting are still lacking. We retrospectively analyzed 87 HCT children transplanted in 11 AIEOP centers receiving letermovir as off-label indication between January 2020 and November 2022. Letermovir was used as primary, secondary prophylaxis or CMV treatment in 39, 26 and 22 cases, respectively; no discontinuation due to toxicity was reported. Median duration was 100 days (14-256) for primary and 96 days (8-271) for secondary prophylaxis, respectively. None of the patients experienced CMV-clinically significant reactivation during Letermovir primary prophylaxis; one patient developed breakthrough infection during secondary prophylaxis, and 10 and 1 patient experienced asymptomatic CMV-reactivation and CMV-primary infection after drug discontinuation, respectively. Median duration of letermovir in CMV treatment was 40 days (7-134), with 4/22 patients suffering CMV-pneumonia, with an overall response rate of 86.4%. With a median follow-up of 10.7 months (8.2-11.8), estimated 1-year overall survival was 86%; no CMV-related deaths were reported in prophylaxis groups. This is the largest report on Letermovir use in pediatric HCT; real-life data confirm an excellent toxicity profile, with high efficacy as CMV prophylaxis; results in CMV-infection treatment should be investigated in larger, prospective trials.

Successful sequential liver and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a patient with Fanconi anemia.

BACKGROUND: In Fanconi anemia bone marrow failure is the major cause of morbidity and mortality and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation represents the only curative treatment. Liver disease, in terms of elevated liver function tests, as well as benign and malignant liver tumors, occurs especially in case of androgen treatment. We report a unique case of a child with Fanconi anemia with FANCD2 mutation who developed neonatal cryptogenic liver cirrhosis and bone marrow failure. The child successfully underwent sequential liver transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the first 2 years of life. Nineteen months after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and 30 months after liver transplantation, the patient is clinically well with normal hematopoietic function and excellent liver function. CONCLUSION: This is the first FA patient who successfully received sequential LT and HSCT highlighting that successful sequential transplantation is feasible in Fanconi anemia patients.

Case Report: Consistent disease manifestations with a staggered time course in two identical twins affected by adenosine deaminase 2 deficiency.

Deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2) is an autosomal recessive disease associated with a highly variable clinical presentation, including vasculitis, immunodeficiency, and hematologic manifestations, potentially progressing over time. The present study describes the long-term evolution of the immuno-hematological features and therapeutic challenge of two identical adult twin sisters affected by DADA2. The absence of plasmatic adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) activity in both twins suggested the diagnosis of DADA2, then confirmed by genetic analysis. Exon sequencing revealed a missense (p.Leu188Pro) mutation on the paternal ADA2 allele. While, whole genome sequencing identified an unreported deletion (IVS6_IVS7del*) on the maternal allele predicted to produce a transcript missing exon 7. The patients experienced the disease onset during childhood with early strokes (Patient 1 at two years, Patient 2 at eight years of age), subsequently followed by other shared DADA2-associated features, including neutropenia, hypogammaglobulinemia, reduced switched memory B cells, inverted CD4:CD8 ratio, increased naïve T cells, reduced follicular regulatory T cells, the almost complete absence of NK cells, T-large granular cell leukemia, and osteoporosis. Disease evolution differed: clinical manifestations presented several years earlier and were more pronounced in Patient 1 than in Patient 2. Due to G-CSF refractory life-threatening neutropenia, Patient 1 successfully underwent an urgent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a 9/10 matched unrelated donor. Patient 2 experienced a similar, although delayed, disease evolution and is currently on anti-TNF therapy and anti-infectious prophylaxis. The unique cases confirmed that heterozygous patients with null ADA2 activity deserve deep investigation for possible structural variants on a single allele. Moreover, this report emphasizes the importance of timely recognizing DADA2 at the onset to allow adequate follow-up and detection of disease progression. Finally, the therapeutic management in these identical twins raises significant concerns as they share a similar phenotype, with a delayed but almost predictable disease evolution in one of them, who could benefit from a prompt definitive treatment like elective allogeneic HSCT. Additional data are required to assess whether the absence of enzymatic activity at diagnosis is associated with hematological involvement and is also predictive of bone marrow dysfunction, encouraging early HSCT to improve functional outcomes.

Osteonecrosis in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: Incidence, risk factors, radiological patterns and evolution in a single-centre cohort.

Osteonecrosis (ON) is a well-known sequela of paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment. Incidence differs substantially among studies and the clinical significance of radiological findings is not fully established. We analysed 256 consecutive patients with ALL treated in our Institution between October 2010 and December 2016. Within the cohort, 41 developed ON, with a mean 5-year cumulative incidence of 18.5 (standard error, SE, 5.7)% overall. The mean (SE) 5-year cumulative incidence of ON was 12.7 (2.1)% after censoring upon stem cell transplantation (SCT) and/or relapse. Patients aged ≥10 years and patients allocated to the high-risk stratum had a 10-fold and fivefold higher risk of ON respectively. The risk of ON was more than double in relapsed patients, whereas no significant impact of gender, immunophenotype and SCT was demonstrated. Multiple lesions (median four joints involved per patient) were detected by magnetic resonance imaging in all but one patient, with the knee being the most affected joint. Lesions affecting convex joint surfaces experienced the worst evolution, whereas most lesions on diaphyses and concave surfaces remained radiologically stable or disappeared during follow-up. ON has a high prevalence in paediatric ALL, presenting with multiple lesions. Lesions involving convex surfaces were at higher risk of radiological deterioration.

ABO incompatibile graft management in pediatric transplantation.

Up to 40% of donor-recipient pairs in SCT have some degree of ABO incompatibility, which may cause severe complications. The aim of this study was to describe available options and survey current practices by means of a questionnaire circulated within the EBMT Pediatric Diseases Working Party investigators. Major ABO incompatibility (donor's RBCs have antigens missing on the recipient's cell surface, towards which the recipient has circulating isohemagglutinins) requires most frequently an intervention in case of bone marrow grafts, as immediate or delayed hemolysis, delayed erythropoiesis and pure red cell aplasia may occur. RBC depletion from the graft (82%), recipient plasma-exchange (14%) were the most common practices, according to the survey. Graft manipulation is rarely needed in mobilized peripheral blood grafts. In case of minor incompatible grafts (donor has isohemagglutinins directed against recipient RBC antigens), isohemagglutinin depletion from the graft by plasma reduction/centrifugation may be considered, but acute tolerability of minor incompatible grafts is rarely an issue. According to the survey, minor ABO incompatibility was either managed by means of plasma removal from the graft, especially when isohemagglutinin titer was above a certain threshold, or led to no intervention at all (41%). Advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed.

Hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia after pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: The impact of hormonal replacement therapy and iron overload.

BACKGROUND: The advent of techniques for the assessment of iron overload (liver T2*-MRI) has led to the awareness that focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) represents a possible incidental finding after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), though its pathogenesis is still unclear. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the liver T2*-MRI scans performed between 2013 and 2018 in a single pediatric HSCT Unit and recorded the number of patients with FNH (group A). Patients incidentally diagnosed with FNH at imaging performed for different clinical indications were included in group B. RESULTS: Nine of 105 (8.6%) patients from group A were diagnosed with FNH. Group B included three patients. Overall, 12 patients were diagnosed 4.4 ± 3.1 years after HSCT. At univariate analysis, female gender (odds ratio [OR] 3.77, P = .03), moderate-to-severe iron overload (OR 6.97, P = .01), and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) administered for at least 6 months (OR 18.20, P = .0002) exposed patients to a higher risk of developing FNH. The detrimental effect of HRT was significant also at multivariate analysis (OR 7.93, P = .024). MRI-T2* values in affected patients were statistically lower than healthy controls (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: We confirm the high incidence of FNH among transplanted pediatric patients and demonstrate the potential pathogenic role of HRT and iron overload.

Should Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome Be Mainly Considered an Epileptic Disorder? Results of a Sequential Neurophysiological Study in a Pediatric Cohort.

Despite a wide number of studies trying to define clinical, physiopathological, and neuroradiological features of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), the true nature of symptoms is still not fully understood. We studied a standard cohort of 24 pediatric patients, affected by hemato-oncological diseases, with a neuroradiological diagnosis consistent with PRES identified from 2006 to 2013. Ten of them developed PRES after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We analyzed the sequence of clinical, radiological, and electrophysiological data. In all the patients who were recorded at the onset of the first symptoms, electroencephalograms showed focal nonconvulsive seizures or status epilepticus (SE). We found a sensitivity of 100% for electroencephalogram (EEG) with a good correlation between clinical signs and the localization of seizures, whereas computed tomography scans showed a sensitivity of 50% only. Following prompt treatment, intensive care unit admission rate was only 8%. PRES is a multifactorial neurologic event with focal nonconvulsive seizures or SE as the main feature in pediatric patients. Clinical manifestations are epileptic in nature, and prompt EEG recording is useful for diagnosis and supports an earlier treatment, potentially preventing the appearance of complications such as generalized seizures or refractory SE.

Pentraxin 3 plasma levels at graft-versus-host disease onset predict disease severity and response to therapy in children given haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD) remains a major complication of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, with a significant proportion of patients failing to respond to first-line systemic corticosteroids. Reliable biomarkers predicting disease severity and response to treatment are warranted to improve its management. Thus, we sought to determine whether pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an acute-phase protein produced locally at the site of inflammation, could represent a novel acute GvHD biomarker. Using a murine model of the disease, we found increased PTX3 plasma levels after irradiation and at GvHD onset. Similarly, plasma PTX3 was enhanced in 115 pediatric patients on day of transplantation, likely due to conditioning, and at GvHD onset in patients experiencing clinical symptoms of the disease. PTX3 was also found increased in skin and colon biopsies from patients with active disease. Furthermore, PTX3 plasma levels at GvHD onset were predictive of disease outcome since they resulted significantly higher in both severe and therapy-unresponsive patients. Multiple injections of rhPTX3 in the murine model of GvHD did not influence the disease course. Taken together, our results indicate that PTX3 constitutes a biomarker of GvHD severity and therapy response useful to tailor treatment intensity according to early risk-stratification of GvHD patients.

Two cases of hepatic adenomas in patients with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome: a new rare complication?

Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is a rare microdeletion syndrome associated with a characteristic facial appearance, failure to thrive, psychomotor delays, and various major malformations of internal organs; many medical complications have been described (feeding difficulties, epilepsy, hearing problems). Benign or malignant oncologic problems are not a typical feature of the natural history of these patients. We report on two patients with WHS patients in whom hepatic adenoma (HA) were diagnosed during adolescence. The clinical evolution of liver involvement was different between the two. We discuss the possibility of considering HA as a rare medical problem in the follow-up of WHS patients. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Impact of viral infections in children with community-acquired pneumonia: results of a study of 17 respiratory viruses.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence of viral infections in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical and virological data collected from children with radiographically confirmed CAP in whom 17 respiratory viruses were sought in respiratory secretion samples during the acute phase of the disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved 592 children with radiographically confirmed CAP whose respiratory secretion samples were tested using the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Virus Panel Fast assay, which simultaneously detects influenza A virus, influenza B virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-A and -B, parainfluenzavirus-1, -2, -3, and -4, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1, enterovirus/rhinovirus, and bocavirus. A real-time PCR assay was used to identify the rhinovirus in the enterovirus/rhinovirus-positive samples. RESULTS: A total of 435 children (73·5%) were positive for at least one virus: the most frequently detected was RSV, which was found in 188 (31·7%), followed by rhinovirus (n = 144, 24·3%), bocavirus (n = 60, 10·1%), influenza viruses (n = 57, 9·6), and hMPV (n = 49, 8·2%). Viral co-infections were found in 117 children (19·7% of the enrolled children; 26·9% of those with viral infections). Marginal differences were found between the infections owing to a single virus. Co-infections showed radiographic evidence of alveolar pneumonia significantly more frequently than single infections (OR 1·72, 95% CI 1·05-2·81). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study highlight the importance of respiratory viruses (mainly RSV and rhinovirus) in children with CAP and show the characteristics of both the single infections and co-infections associated with the disease.

Knowledge of malaria among women of Burundi and its impact on the incidence of the disease.

In order to investigate whether the persistently high incidence of malaria in Burundi is due to a lack of knowledge of the disease, mothers of children admitted to the hospital of Kiremba in Burundi were anonymously administered a semi-structured questionnaire about malaria. A total of 539 questionnaires were evaluated. About 75% of the women knew that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes, and respectively 58.3 and 23.9% knew that it could lead to the death of a fetus or a low birth weight. Fewer than half of the women (44.7%) knew that malaria can be definitely diagnosed by means of a blood examination and only 39.7% indicates that artesunate-amodiaquine was the first-line therapy recommended by the Burundian health authorities. Long-lasting insecticidal or insecticide-treated nets were used by only 33.0%. Burundian women generally know little about malaria. Public awareness programmes should be conducted before any malaria control initiatives are planned.

Immunogenicity and safety of intradermal influenza vaccine in children.

In order to compare the immunogenicity and safety of different doses of trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) administered intradermallly (ID) with those evoked by a full dose of intramuscular (IM) virosomal-adjuvanted influenza vaccine (VA-TIV), 112 previously primed healthy children aged ≥ 3 years were randomised to receive 9 µg or 15 µg of each strain of ID-TIV, or a full IM dose (15 µg of each strain) of VA-TIV. The A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 seroconversion and seroprotection rates were ≥ 90% and geometric mean titres (GMTs) increased 3.2-14.9 times without any statistically significant between-group differences; however, the seroconversion and seroprotection rates against the B strain were significantly higher in the children receiving either ID-TIV dose (p<0.05) without any differences between them. GMT against B virus was significantly higher in the children receiving the highest dose (p<0.05). Local reactions were significantly more common among the children receiving either ID-TIV dose (p<0.05), but systemic reactions were relatively uncommon in all three groups. Our findings suggest that ID-TIV with 15 µg of each viral antigen can confer a significant better protection against influenza than that obtained with the same dose of IM TIV in already primed children aged ≥ 3 years with an acceptable safety profile. The lower dose of ID-TIV needs further evaluation to analyze persistence of protection.

Pandemic influenza A/H1N1 vaccine administered sequentially or simultaneously with seasonal influenza vaccine to HIV-infected children and adolescents.

In order to evaluate the immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of the 2009 A/H1N1 MF59-adjuvanted influenza vaccine administered sequentially or simultaneously with seasonal virosomal-adjuvanted influenza vaccine to HIV-infected children and adolescents, 36 HIV-infected children and adolescents, and 36 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were randomised 1:1 to receive the pandemic vaccine upon enrollment and the seasonal vaccine one month later, or to receive the pandemic and seasonal vaccines simultaneously upon enrollment. Seroconversion and seroprotection rates against the pandemic influenza A/H1N1 virus were 100% two months after vaccine administration in both groups, regardless of the sequence of administration. Geometric mean titres against pandemic and seasonal antigens were significantly higher when the seasonal and pandemic vaccines were administered simultaneously than when the seasonal vaccine was administered alone. Local and systemic reactions were mild and not increased by simultaneous administration. In conclusion, the 2009 pandemic influenza A/H1N1 MF59-adjuvanted vaccine is as immunogenic, safe and well tolerated in HIV-infected children and adolescents as in healthy controls. Its simultaneous administration with virosomal-adjuvanted seasonal antigens seems to increase immune response to both pandemic and seasonal viruses with the same safety profile as that of the pandemic vaccine alone. However, because this finding cannot be clearly explained by an immunological viewpoint, further studies are needed to clarify the reasons of its occurrence.