RESUMO
BACKGROUND: In intestinal transplantation, graft versus host disease (GVHD), while relatively rare, remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality posttransplant. Because of its rarity of occurrence, no multivariable analysis of risk factors for GVHD development has previously been reported. METHODS: We used Cox stepwise regression to determine the significant multivariable predictors of the hazard rate of developing biopsy-proven GVHD during the first 60 months posttransplant among 445 consecutive intestinal transplant cases at our center since 1994. RESULTS: GVHD was observed in 8.8% (39/445); median time-to-GVHD development (range) was 1.5 months (0.5-17.3 mo) posttransplant. Sites of GVHD included skin (N = 21), skin/gastrointestinal tract (N = 6), gastrointestinal tract/rectum (N = 4), skin/liver (N = 4), skin/lung (N = 2), skin/rectum (N = 1), and skin/bone marrow (N = 1). Three factors were selected into the Cox model offering significant protection from GVHD development (listed in order of selection): isolated intestine or liver-intestine (LI) (versus modified multivisceral [MV] or MV) allograft (P = 0.00003), alemtuzumab (versus no induction, anti-CD25, rabbit antithymocyte globulin, or rabbit antithymocyte globulin/rituximab) induction (P = 0.004), and liver inclusion (LI or MV) (P = 0.009). These results remained unchanged even after accounting for the propensity to receive alemtuzumab induction. Observed GVHD incidence was 2.4% (3/125), 0.0% (0/38), 17.9% (7/39), and 11.9% (29/243) for isolated intestine, LI, modified MV, and MV allografts, and 2.7% (3/113) versus 10.8% (36/332) for those receiving versus not receiving alemtuzumab induction, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results may help advance the current state of knowledge about risk factors for GVHD development following intestinal transplantation.