Clinical course and outcomes of COVID‐19 in hematopoietic cell transplant patients, a regional report from the Middle East

Riad El Fakih, Alfadil Haroon, Feras Alfraih, Murtadha K. Al-Khabori, Mohsen Alzahrani, Ahmad Alhuraiji, Abdulaziz Hamadah, Naif I. AlJohani, Bader Alahmari, Mohammed F. Essa, Ibraheem H. Motabi, Imran K. Tailor, Reem S. Almaghrabi, Khalil Al-Farsi, Ibraheem Abosoudah, Mouhab Ayas, Tusneem A. Elhassan, Ashraf M. Suhebeh, Syed Osman Ahmed, Saud AlhayliPanayotis Kaloyannidis, Ahmad Alsaeed, Khalid Al Anezi, Sameer Alamoudi, Moussab Damlaj, Hani Al Hashmi, Mahmoud Aljurf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) caused by SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is a potentially lethal infection. Cancer patients, and specifically hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients are severely immunocompromised and may be at a higher risk of a complicated course with this infection. We aimed to study the COVID-19 outcomes and severity in post HCT patients. We retrospectively reviewed post-HCT patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 15, 2020, and December 1, 2020 at 10 transplant centers across the Middle East. We identified 91 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection across 10 transplant centers. The median age upon presentation with COVID-19 was 35. Fifty two patients were post allo-HCT while the remaining 39 patients were post auto-HCT. The median time from transplant was 14.9 months. Mortality rate was 4.4%. Hospital admission rate was 53%. ICU admission rate was 14%. Mechanical ventilation rate was 10%. Oxygen supplementation rate was 18%. Time from HCT to COVID-19 >6 months was associated with lower admission rates and lower rates of the “severity” composite endpoint. Antibody responses was seen 67% of evaluable patients. In this series of HCT recipients, we report overall favorable clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19 and provide preliminary insights into the clinical course of this disease in this specific population.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2144-2151
Number of pages8
JournalBone Marrow Transplantation
Volume56
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 1 2021

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