Restrictive effects of thalassemia on respiratory functions: One center experience.

OBJECTIVE: Respiratory functions in thalassemia major (TM) patients concerning poor chelation are a frequently researched issue. Our study aims to evaluate the lung functions of our patients with TM in the chronic transfusion program and to correlate them with their age, ferritin levels, and pre-transfusion hemoglobin values. METHODS: Height, weight, pulmonary function test (PFT) results, pre-transfusion hemoglobin levels, and ferritin levels of 97 patients (55 boys and 42 girls) without any underlying cardiac or chronic respiratory disease were recorded. PFT is consisted of forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), the ratio of FEV1/FVC to peak expiratory flow (PEF), and forced mid-exhaled flow between 25% and 75% of mid-expiratory flow (MEF25-75). Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS V25. RESULTS: Low FVC was observed in 58 patients (60%), and low FEV1 was observed in 26 patients (27.6%). Low PEF was observed in 62 patients (64.5%), and low MEF25-75 was observed in 8 (8.3%). PFT was affected in 75 patients (78.1%). The pattern of involvement was restrictive. Age, height, and ferritin values significantly affected the MEF25-75 (p<0.05). Age and pre-transfusion hemoglobin values had a significant effect on the FVC test (p<0.05). There was a weak negative correlation between ferritin values and MEF25-75 (r=-0.221) and a weak positive correlation between pre-transfusion hemoglobin and FVC (r=0.222). CONCLUSION: Age and height are the main risk factors affecting FEV1, MEF25-75, and PEF. Serum ferritin has only an effect on MEF25-75 in our study. The respiratory functions of TM patients were affected in a restrictive pattern.

Neurologic Status of Patients with Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase Deficiency Before and After Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive combined immunodeficiency. The phenotype is profound T cell deficiency with variable B and NK cell functions and results in recurrent and persistent infections that typically begin in the first year of life. Neurologic findings occur in approximately two-thirds of patients. The mechanism of neurologic abnormalities is unclear. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only curative treatment for PNP deficiency. METHODS: We report here six patients from five unrelated families with PNP deficiency treated in two centers in Turkey. We evaluated the neurological status of patients and compared to post-transplantation period if available. Then, we performed PubMed, Google Scholar, and Researchgate searches using the terms "PNP" and "hematopoietic stem cell transplantation" to find all reported cases of PNP transplantation and compared to our cohort. RESULTS: Six patients were treated in two centers in Turkey. One patient died from post-transplant complications. The other four patients underwent successful HSCT with good immune reconstitution after transplantation (follow-up 21-48 months) and good neurological outcomes. The other patient with a new mutation is still waiting for a matching HLA donor. DISCUSSION: In PNP deficiency, clinical manifestations are variable, and this disease should be considered in the presence of many different clinical findings. Despite the comorbidities that occurred before transplantation, HSCT currently appears to be the only treatment option for this disease. HSCT not only cures immunologic disorders, but probably also improves or at least stabilizes the neurologic status of patients.

The impact of Treosulfan-based conditioning for inborn errors of immunity: Is dose monitoring crucial?

INTRODUCTION: In children with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) who will receive a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) treosulfan-based conditioning is currently preferred. The aim of this study was to investigate early and late outcomes in pediatric IEI patients receiving pre-HSCT treosulfan and to examine the effect of treosulfan dose monitoring on outcomes. METHODS: Seventy-three pediatric patients receiving this management between 2015 and 2022 were included. RESULTS: Overall survival rate was 80%, and event-free survival was 67.8%. A larger treosulfan dose AUC after first application increased the rate of early toxicity (p = .034) and slowed lymphocyte engraftment (r = .290; p = .030). Underlying disease, treosulfan AUC, donor type, stem cell type, number of immunosuppressive agents, the dose of anti-thymocyte globulin, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide did not to increase risk of acute graft-versus-host disease. The risk of mixed chimerism (MC) in patients with autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome and leukocyte adhesion deficiency were higher than those with severe combined immunodeficiency (p = .021 and p = .014, respectively). The risk of MC was lower in those receiving peripheral blood stem cells (SC) compared with bone marrow derived SC (OR = .204, p = .022). CONCLUSION: The AUC of the treosulfan dose was not associated with poorer late outcomes. Treosulfan is an agent that can be used safely in the IEI patient group,  level measurement appears essential to identify early toxicities. Prospective studies with more extended follow-up periods are needed.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma in ADA-SCID Patient After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency is one of the most prevalent forms of severe combined immunodeficiency and results in the accumulation of toxic substrates which creates a systemic metabolic disease. It predisposes patients to the development of malignancies, most commonly lymphoma. We report an 8-month-old infant with ADA deficient severe combined immunodeficiency who developed progressive liver dysfunction and hepatocellular carcinoma after successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This is the first case report of an ADA-deficient patient who presented with hepatocellular carcinoma and gives an insight into the complex etiology that can lie behind liver dysfunction in these patients.

Evaluation of the risk factors for BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis in pediatric bone marrow transplantation patients: Does post-transplantation cyclophosphamide increase the frequency?

BACKGROUND: BKV-HC is one of the most significant complications of HSCT. This retrospective study aimed to determine the frequency of BKV-HC in pediatric patients undergoing HSCT, detect the associated risk factors for the development of BKV-HC, and explore the effects of post-transplantation Cy use. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-seven patients (girls: 121, boys: 206) were analyzed according to sex, conditioning regimen, transplantation type, donor relatedness, stem cell source, the presence and grade of aGVHD, CMV co-existence, and Cy use. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis confirmed the prognostic importance of age (OR: 4.865), TBI use, the presence of aGVHD (OR: 2.794), CMV coinfection (OR: 2.261), and Cy use (OR: 27.353). A statistically significant difference was found between the mean BKV-HC follow-up times compared with post-transplantation Cy intake (p < .001). The BKV-HC rate increased as the number of risk factors of the patient increased. CONCLUSION: BKV-HC is an essential complication of HSCT primarily associated with Cy use, the presence of aGVHD, and donor relatedness. The present study shows that the use of Cy in the post-transplantation period further increases BKV-HC risk in pediatric patients, regardless of dose.