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Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a highly specialised procedure used to treat malignancies of the lymphohaematopoietic system as well as some acquired and inherited disorders of the blood. This analysis by the Swiss Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Group, based on data from 2008-2011, describes, treatment rates in Switzerland for specific indications and compares this with data from Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, corrected for the size of the population. Differences in transplant rates, in rates for particular indications, and in the use of specific transplant technologies such as use of unrelated donors, use of cord blood or mismatched family donors are described. These data are put in correlation with donor availability from international registries and with number of transplant teams and number of procedures per team all corrected for population size.

Only few comparative prospective studies have been published on psychosocial issues of organ transplant. This study investigated patient groups with various organ transplants with respect to their quality of life and psychosocial situation before and after surgery.76 patients receiving an organ transplant (lung n = 22, liver n = 26, allogeneic bone marrow n = 28) were investigated with regard to quality of life (SF-36), life satisfaction (FLZ), social support (F-SozU), and psychological symptoms (HADS-D) before (T0) as well as six (T1) and twelve (T2) months after transplant.In the pre-transplant period the values of the psychosocial variables were partly lower than those of the community normal sample. After transplant lung and bone marrow patients reported less anxiety and depression and a higher life satisfaction, and liver patients reported less depression, compared to the norms. Quality of life, life satisfaction and psychological symptoms of all patients improved significantly post-transplant, whereas the perceived social support decreased. Contrary to the other groups, the psychological well-being of liver transplant recipients was deteriorating between T1 and T2.An organ transplant improved the patients' quality of life and psychosocial situation to a great extent. This effect was better in lung and bone marrow than in liver transplant patients.

The current organ shortage in transplantation medicine stimulates the exploration of new strategies to expand the donor pool including the utilisation of living donors, ABO-incompatible grafts, and xenotransplantation. Preformed natural antibodies (Ab) such as anti-Gal or anti-A/B Ab mediate hyperacute graft rejection and thus represent a major hurdle to the employment of such strategies. In contrast to solid organ transplantation (SOT), ABO blood group incompatibilities are of minor importance in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Thus, ABO incompatible HSCT may serve as an in vivo model to study carbohydrate antigen (Ag)-mismatched transplantations such as ABO-incompatible SOT or the effect of preformed Ab against Gal in xenotransplantation. This mini-review summarises our clinical and experimental studies performed with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation program on Implants and Transplants (NFP-46). Part 1 describes data on the clinical outcome of ABO-incompatible HSCT, in particular the incidence of several immunohaematological complications, acute graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD), and the overall survival. Part 2 summarises the measurements of anti-A/B Ab in healthy blood donors and ABO-incompatible HSCT using a novel flow cytometry based method and the potential mechanisms responsible for the loss of anti-A/B Ab observed following minor ABO-incompatible HSCT, ie the occurrence of humoral tolerance. Part 3 analyses the potential of eliminating Gal expression as well as specific complement inhibitors such as dextran sulfate and synthetic tyrosine analogues to protect porcine endothelial cells from xenoreactive Ab-mediated damage in vitro and in a hamster-to-rat heart transplantation model. In conclusion, due to similarities of the immunological hurdles of ABO incompatible transplantations and xenotransplantation, the knowledge obtained from both fields might lead to new strategies to overcome humoral rejection in transplantation.

Voriconazole shows a considerable interpatient variation of serum concentrations.In an analysis of 28 treatment courses, 6 patients presented with neurological adverse events (hallucination, encephalopathy, and visual disturbance). The hazard ratio per 0.1 mg/mL voriconazole serum level (sVL) increase was 2.27 (95% CI: 1.45-3.56, p0.001). There was no correlation between sVL and creatinine (r = 0.12, p = 0.114), ALT (r = -0.14, p = 0.072), AST (r = 0.003, p = 0.964), alkaline phosphatase (r = 0.03, p = 0.723).Our findings demonstrate that elevated sVL is associated with neurological adverse events, and measurement of its serum concentration could improve voriconazole treatment and safety.

Only few comparative prospective studies have been published on psychosocial issues of organ transplant. This study investigated patient groups with various organ transplants with respect to their quality of life and psychosocial situation before and after surgery.76 patients receiving an organ transplant (lung n = 22, liver n = 26, allogeneic bone marrow n = 28) were investigated with regard to quality of life (SF-36), life satisfaction (FLZ), social support (F-SozU), and psychological symptoms (HADS-D) before (T0) as well as six (T1) and twelve (T2) months after transplant.In the pre-transplant period the values of the psychosocial variables were partly lower than those of the community normal sample. After transplant lung and bone marrow patients reported less anxiety and depression and a higher life satisfaction, and liver patients reported less depression, compared to the norms. Quality of life, life satisfaction and psychological symptoms of all patients improved significantly post-transplant, whereas the perceived social support decreased. Contrary to the other groups, the psychological well-being of liver transplant recipients was deteriorating between T1 and T2.An organ transplant improved the patients' quality of life and psychosocial situation to a great extent. This effect was better in lung and bone marrow than in liver transplant patients.

Background Haemolytic anaemia is believed to occur only rarely after solid organ transplantation. During the past eight years we have repeatedly observed cases with otherwise unexplained haemolysis in our lung transplant recipients. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis to determine the prevalence of haemolytic anaemia after lung transplantation and to elucidate possible pathogenetic mechanisms. Results Whereas in three cases haemolytic anaemia was possibly caused by cytomegalovirus disease or drug-related side effects, sixteen out of the remaining 81 lung transplant recipients at risk (20 percent) developed otherwise unexplained haemolysis. All except one haemolytic episode occurred during the first postoperative year and their degree was mild to moderate in 14 cases. A case control study of these patients with those who did not develop haemolysis revealed that this phenomenon occurred less often in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy with mycophenolate mofetil and prophylaxis for cytomegalovirus disease with intravenous immune globulin. Conclusions We found a high prevalence of otherwise unexplained, mostly mild to moderate episodes of haemolytic anaemia after lung transplantation occurring predominantly during the first year after transplantation. The fact that this phenomenon was observed less often in patients receiving mycophenolate mofetil instead of azathioprine as well as in those receiving regular immune globulin prophylaxis with potentially immunomodulatory effects may indicate an immunemediated pathogenesis.

Background Nephrotoxicity is an important side effect of amphothericin B deoxycholate (ampho B) and cyclosporine A (CsA). The combined administration of these drugs is frequent in patients with haematological diseases undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Aim To assess the additional renal toxicity of ampho B given as a continuous infusion in addition to CsA. Methods In a retrospective study renal function was investigated in patients receiving CsA alone or in combination with ampho B (24-hour infusion) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation between January 1998 and April 2001. Results Of a total of 84 patients, 22 were treated with ampho B. There was a statistically significant decline in renal function in comparison to the 62 patients receiving CsA alone. However, renal insufficiency in all patients remained in a clinically acceptable range and was reversible. The residual renal dysfunction at the end of the hospitalisation was mainly due to continuing therapy with CsA. Conclusion Amphotericin B deoxycholate in addition to CsA leads to a statistically significant but clinically tolerable worsening of renal function. Using a 24-hour infusion and strict salt repletion, amphotericin B can be administered safely as deoxycholate in bone marrow transplant patients in conjunction with CsA for proven or suspected fungal infections.