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Feasibility of haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haploSCT) is enhanced by use of post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY). Despite preservation of non-alloreactive T cells, delayed reconstitution of cellular immunity and viral reactivation may compromise the outcome of T cell replete haploSCT. The study included 47 patients, aged 19-70 (median, 53) years, who underwent haploSCT with PTCY for myeloid (n=35) or lymphoid (n=12) malignancies. Myeloablative conditioning was mainly utilized (n=36). Graft source was peripheral blood (n=29) or bone marrow (n=18). Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) reactivation was monitored by real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) in plasma and/or leukocytes weekly for at least 6 months. BK virus (BKV) reactivation was assessed by RQ-PCR in urine and/or blood in cases with hemorrhagic cystitis (HC). Preemptive therapy was the principal modality for CMV infection in all but 1 patient who received letermovir prophylaxis. Reconstitution of cellular immunity was assessed by flow cytometry. With a median follow-up of 30 months, cumulative incidences (CIN) of relapse and non-relapse mortality were 13.4% (95% CI, 5.4-25.1%) and 31.4% (95% CI, 18.3-45.4%) at 2 years, respectively. Disease-free and overall survival were 55.2% (95% CI, 42.3-72.1%) and 61.8% (95% CI, 48.9-78.1%) at 2 years, respectively. CIN of CMV reactivation (>100 copies/ml) plateaued at 75.6% (95% CI, 60.1-85.7%) at 3 months. CMV infection developed in 34/45 patients at risk. Recurrent CMV infection occurred in 17/34 with median 1.5 (range, 1-6) episodes per patient. Median duration of anti-CMV therapy was 27 (range, 14-199) days. CMV disease was documented in 2 patients. CIN of EBV reactivation (>1,000 copies/ml) was 47.1% (95% CI, 34.2-63.9%) at 1 year, and preemptive therapy with rituximab was required in 2 patients. HHV-6 reactivation (>1,000 copies/ml) was observed in 6 patients (CIN, 10.6% at 6 months; 95% CI, 3.8-21.4%). CIN of BKV-related HC reached 27.7% (95% CI, 15.7-40.9%) at 3 months. Cystoscopy was required in 5/13 and nephrostomy in 1/13 patients. Reconstitution of T cell immunity was considerably delayed, with median CD4+ cell counts of 83/uL (range, 7-337), 216/uL (range, 80-509), and 236/uL (range, 97-586) at 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively. Recurrent CMV infection was associated with the recovery of CD4+ cells at 3 months (Figure, median CD4+ count of 191/uL versus 62/uL in patients with 1 or ³2 episodes of CMV reactivation, respectively; p=0.009). Haplo-SCT with PTCY is associated with substantial rates of viral reactivation resulting in the need for prolonged antiviral therapy and considerable morbidity as well. Strategies to prevent viral infection are strongly warranted. The timing and duration of such interventions (like letermovir or adoptive immunotherapy) may be guided by the tempo of immune reconstitution.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) should be routinely screened for latent tuberculosis (LTB) before starting anti-TNF therapy in order to prevent reactivation of LTB. Besides tuberculin skin test (TST), QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-G-IT) has gained wide acceptance as a screening strategy for LTB in IBD, although it may be negatively influenced by the prior use of immunomodulators (IMM) such as azathioprine or methotrexate. This study aimed to assess the impact of IMM on the TST and the QFT-G-IT for LTB screening in IBD patients scheduled for anti-TNF therapy.This observational, prospective, single-center study included consecutive IBD patients scheduled for anti-TNF therapy undergoing on the same day both TST and QFT-G-IT for screening of LTB, between 2008 and 2010. Patients with a prior history of known or suspicious (L)TB receiving (prophylactic) anti-TB therapy were excluded.Seventy-five patients were finally included; 28 were treated with thiopurines (IMM group), while 47 (control group) received either 5-aminosalicylic acid (n = 41) or no therapy (newly diagnosed patients, n = 6). Overall, TST and QFT-G-IT were positive in 14 (18.7%) and 16 (21.3%) patients, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the TST (p = 0.761) and QFT-G-IT (0.572) positivity. The overall concordance between the two tests was moderate (kappa = 0.584), being substantial in the IMM group (kappa = 0.700) and moderate in the control group (kappa = 0.498).These preliminary results suggest that IMM may not have a significant impact on either QFT-G-IT or TST, although larger, prospective studies are certainly warranted.

Introduction: The preferred method for haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haploSCT) is currently the use of post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCY) since it obviates the need for depletion of T lymphocytes, which is associated with profound immunosuppression. Despite preservation of non-alloreactive donor T cells, reconstitution of pathogen-specific immunity may be delayed even after T cell replete haploSCT. The incidence and clinical sequelae of viral reactivation may thus compromise the outcomes of the procedure. Patients and Methods: The study included 47 patients, who underwent haploSCT with PTCY from 12/2013 until 05/2019 and achieved stable donor engraftment. Median age at transplant was 53 years (range, 19-70). The indications for transplant were acute myeloid (n=19) or lymphoblastic (n=10) leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome (n=10), myelofibrosis (n=4), chronic myeloid (n=2) or lymphocytic (n=1) leukemia, and T-prolymphocytic leukemia (n=1). Myeloablative conditioning was mainly utilized (n=36), with the exception of certain patients who received reduced-intensity (n=10) or non-myeloablative (n=1) regimens. The graft source was peripheral blood in 29 and bone marrow in 18 cases. Tacrolimus in combination with mycophenolate mofetil was administered for prevention of graft-versus-host disease. Recipient/donor cytomegalovirus (CMV) serostatus was -/- (n=2), -/+ (n= 5), +/- (n=11), or +/+ (n=29). CMV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) reactivation was monitored by real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) in plasma and/or leukocytes weekly for at least 6 months post haploSCT. BK virus (BKV) reactivation was assessed by RQ-PCR in urine and/or blood specimens in cases with symptoms suggestive of hemorrhagic cystitis (HC). Prophylaxis with letermovir was available in 1 patient only, and preemptive antiviral therapy was the principal modality for the management of CMV infection. Cellular immunity reconstitution was assessed by flow cytometry at 3, 6, and 12 months after transplant. Results: With a median follow-up time of 30 months (range, 2-64), the cumulative incidences (CIN) of relapse and non-relapse mortality (NRM) were 13.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.4-25.1%) and 31.4% (95% CI, 18.3-45.4%) at 2 years, respectively. Disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 55.2% (95% CI, 42.3-72.1%) and 61.8% (95% CI, 48.9-78.1%) at 2 years, respectively. The CIN of CMV reactivation (>100 copies/ml) plateaued at 75.6% (95% CI, 60.1-85.7%) at 3 months. CMV infection developed in 34 out of 45 patients who were at risk, whereas recurrent CMV reactivation was observed in 17 patients with a median number of 1.5 episodes (range, 1-6) per patient. The median total duration of antiviral therapy for CMV infection was 27 days (range, 14-199). CMV disease (pneumonia) was documented in 2 patients. The CIN of EBV reactivation (>1,000 copies/ml) was 47.1% (95% CI, 34.2-63.9%) at 12 months. No case of EBV-related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder was observed, however preemptive therapy with rituximab was required in 2 patients with rapidly increasing EBV viral load. HHV-6 reactivation (>1,000 copies/ml) was observed in 6 patients (CIN, 10.6% at 6 months; 95% CI, 3.8-21.4%), but only one required therapy with foscarnet due to high viral load (>10,000 copies/ml). The CIN of BKV-related HC reached 27.7% (95% CI, 15.7-40.9%) at 3 months. Cystoscopy for bladder hemostasis was required in 5/13 and nephrostomy in 1/11 patients with HC. Reconstitution of helper T cell immunity was considerably delayed, with median absolute CD4+ cell counts of 83/uL (range, 7-337), 216/uL (range, 80-509), and 236/uL (range, 97-586) at 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively. Recurrent CMV infection was significantly associated with the recovery of CD4+ cells at 3 months (Figure; median CD4+ count of 191/uL versus 62/uL in patients with 1 and 2 or more episodes of CMV reactivation, respectively; p=0.009). Conclusions: HaploSCT with PTCY is associated with substantial rates of viral reactivation (especially CMV and BKV) resulting in the need for prolonged antiviral therapy and considerable morbidity. Strategies to prevent viral infection are strongly warranted in haploidentical stem cell transplantation. The timing and duration of such interventions (like letermovir or adoptive immunotherapy) may be guided by the tempo of immune reconstitution following haploSCT. Figure Disclosures Tsonis: Gilead: Other: Travel Grant; Astellas: Other: Travel Grants; Gilead: Other: Travel Grant; Aenorasis: Other: Travel Grant; Takeda: Other: Travel Grant; Pfizer: Other: Travel Grant; Innovis: Other: Travel Grant.

Water and swab samples were collected from 13 hospitals and analyzed for Legionella counts. Legionella was detected in eight out of 13 hospitals and in 22 of 130 water and swab-collected samples. A total of 72.7% of the strains were L. pneumophila ser. 1, 22.7% were L. pneumophila ser. 2-14, and 4.5% did not belong to any of these groups. AFLP typing of the L. pneumophila ser. 1 strains generated two distinguishable AFLP types. There was no significant correlation to the sample type with Legionella recovery. Legionella isolation was more likely to occur in the cooling towers than the water system. Water temperatures of 30-40 degrees C seem to favor Legionella growth. Of the 265 serum samples taken from the medical and technical staff for the control of IgG titre, 89.4% were negative, 7.2% were positive, and for 3.4% the result was doubtful. No association between IgG titre and maximum observed level of Legionella occurrence was detected.

A case of severe and irreversible pancytopenia secondary to acute primary cytomegalovirus infection in an immunocompetent woman is described. The patient presented with thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, anemia, and abnormal liver function tests. Treatment with corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin was ineffective in reconstituting hemopoiesis. The patient developed severe sepsis and eventually expired. Keywords: cytomegalovirus, pancytopenia, immunocompetent, fulminant, irreversible

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) remains the main therapeutic option for patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies, albeit with the requirement of a properly matched and timely available donor. Dual-unit umbilical cord blood transplantation (dUCBT) has become an alternative modality, which offers immediate access to allo-SCT for most adult patients who lack an appropriate volunteer donor. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of consecutive dUCBT procedures that were undertaken by our center over a seven-year period, with focus on factors affecting engraftment and survival. Between 2006 and 2013, 40 patients underwent dUCBT at a median age of 37 years (range, 16-60) for various hematologic malignancies (acute myeloid leukemia: 22, myelodysplastic syndrome: 5, chronic myelogenous leukemia: 2, acute lymphoblastic leukemia: 6, mixed-phenotype acute leukemia: 2, plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm: 1, hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma: 1, chronic lymphocytic leukemia: 1). The majority of patients (73.7%) had advanced or intermediate-phase disease at the time of transplantation, with a median time from diagnosis to transplant of 17.7 months (range:3.1-92.3). Recipient body weight ranged from 48 to 110 kg (median, 73). The conditioning regimen was myeloablative in 33 (82.5%) patients (busulfan-based in 22, and total body irradiation-based in 11 cases). Antithymocyte globulin was not administered during conditioning, with the exception of one case. Most units (55/80, 68.75%) were 4/6 antigen matched to recipient at HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 loci, and the remaining were 5/6 matched. By retrospective high-resolution typing for class I HLA alleles, histocompatibility was demoted in 62.3% of units. By additional allele-level typing at HLA-C and -DQB1 loci, the degree of compatibility varied from 8/10 to 3/10, with 80.5% of the units being ≤6/10 matched to the patient. The median dose of cryopreserved total nucleated cells (TNC) per unit was 2.53 x 107/kg (range, 1.09-5.66). At infusion, patients received in total a median of 4.55 x 107 TNC/kg (range, 2.65-9.3) and 1.7 x 105 CD34+ cells/kg (range, 0.54-5.14) from both units. The cumulative incidence (CI) of neutrophil engraftment was 92.5% (37/40 patients), with achievement of an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) greater than 500/uL at a median of 20 days (range, 12-52) (Figure 1). Platelet recovery (>50x109/L) occurred at a CI of 63.2%, and a median time of 84 days (range, 32-363). No influence of cell dose (TNC or CD34+) or of the degree of HLA match on the incidence and kinetics of engraftment could be detected. Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) of grades II-IV and III-IV developed in 85% and 12.65% of patients, respectively. The CI of chronic GVHD was 31% (extensive in 54.5% of cases). There was a statistical trend for increased incidence of cGVHD with 500/uL) engraftment.Figure 1. Cumulative Incidence curve of neutrophil (ANC>500/uL) engraftment.Figure 2Cumulative Incidence curve of non-relapse mortality.Figure 2. Cumulative Incidence curve of non-relapse mortality.Figure 3Overall Survival (Kaplan-Meier curve).Figure 3. Overall Survival (Kaplan-Meier curve). In conclusion, dUCBT can lead to stable donor engraftment even across multiple HLA disparities and can overcome the barrier of cell dose. Despite considerable early mortality, dUCBT offers the possibility of long-term survival in about one third of adult patients with poor-prognosis hematologic malignancies, for whom allo-SCT would not be otherwise feasible. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

A proportion of cases of HC after allo-SCT are associated with infection from BKV. Supportive treatment is not sufficient for the relief of symptoms in many patients with BKV-associated HC. Cidofovir is an antiviral agent active against BKV. Its use is limited, however, due to the reported risk of renal failure in patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The experience with cidofovir in BKV-associated HC is anecdotal, and the optimal dose schedule of the drug has not been determined. We administered weekly high-dose cidofovir in 5 patients for the treatment of 6 episodes of symptomatic BKV-associated HC, which were refractory to first-line therapy with hydration and continuous bladder irrigation. One patient was treated twice with cidofovir for 2 temporally separated episodes of HC, combined with papillary necrosis and ureteritis respectively. All 5 patients were males, aged 21–44 years, and had received grafts from matched related (n=2), matched unrelated (n=1) or haploidentical (n=1) donors. The median time from transplantation to diagnosis of HC was 61.5 (range, 26–303) days. In all cases, the development of HC was associated with severe immunosuppression due to profound lymphopenia or treatment with steroids or antithymocyte globulin for GVHD. BKV-associated HC was confirmed by detection of BKV in the urine by real-time PCR (1.5 × 107–5.5 × 109 copies/ml). In 2 of the 6 episodes, the patients also developed BKV viremia (5.0–9.9 × 103 copies/ml). The median time from the manifestation of symptoms to initiation of cidofovir was 12 (range, 4–53) days. Cidofovir was started at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg/week intravenously over 1 hour. If renal function remained stable, subsequent doses of 5 mg/kg were given at weekly intervals for a total of 4–6 doses. Oral probenecid and intravenous hydration were administered in combination with cidofovir. No patient developed renal toxicity (a rise in serum creatinine of at least 1.5 × baseline or proteinuria). In 5 of the 6 cases, clinical improvement of patients was observed, with a median time to response of 5 (range, 3–8) days after the first dose of cidofovir. Complete resolution of symptoms of HC was achieved in these 5 cases after 4 to 6 doses of cidofovir. BKV viral load was monitored weekly in urine (and blood) during therapy. Clinical responses did not correlate with a reduction in viral load in urine. However, in the 2 cases with BKV viremia, real-time PCR became negative after treatment with cidofovir. Concomitant CMV infection was detected in 5 of the 6 episodes of BKV-associated HC, and in all but one, complete suppression of CMV reactivation was achieved by cidofovir. Four of the 5 patients are currently alive and free of symptoms of HC. In conclusion, treatment of BKV-associated HC with cidofovir at the dose of 5 mg/kg/week seems to be safe and may result in prompt and sustained relief of the debilitating symptoms of this condition. Additional manifestations of BKV-associated disease (papillary necrosis and ureteritis) and concurrent CMV infection can be managed successfully with this dose schedule. To our knowledge, these 6 cases comprise the largest reported experience of treatment of BKV-associated HC with cidofovir, albeit the encouraging results need to be substantiated by further trials.