Efficacy of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treatment in refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.

Background and purpose: Treatment options for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) are intravenous immunoglobulin, plasmapheresis, corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs. However, a substantial proportion of patients with CIDP remain refractory to treatment and develop severe functional disability. A systematic review and a meta‐analysis of the efficacy of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) treatment in refractory CIDP patients was performed. Methods: The study is based on queries in the PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Web of Science and clinicaltrials.gov databases on 4 December 2022. Articles that met our eligibility criteria were included after screening. Patients' characteristics, treatment regime and outcome measures were extracted. Results: Eighty‐nine patients in 11 studies were included. The pooled estimate of responsiveness amongst the four included studies was 87.04% (95% confidence interval 66.7%–99.5%) and the pooled estimate of freedom of all immune modulating or suppressive drugs was 80.75% (95% confidence interval 71.2%–90.2%). Conclusion: This meta‐analysis and systematic review suggested that HSCT can be effective in the treatment of refractory CIDP. Whilst there are risks involved, HSCT may be a beneficial and viable therapy for refractory CIDP when carefully evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]