The impact of pretransplant hypoalbuminemia on survival in patients with leukemia who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT): A nutritional problem?

Objective Serum albumin level is considered to be a marker reflecting the nutritional status in both healthy subjects and patients with malignancies. In this study we sought to investigate the association between pretransplantation serum albumin levels and prognosis among patients with leukemia who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of 102 patients who underwent alloHSCT from 2004 to 2010. Pretransplant serum albumin, D-dimer, creatinine, and fibrinogen levels drawn within 10 days before transplantation were obtained from patient files. All parameters were divided into 2 groups: normal levels (group 1) versus abnormal levels (group 2). Our normal range of serum albumin is 3.2-5.2 g/dL; patients with pretransplantation albumin level ≥3.2 g/dL were included in group 1 versus group 2 with <3.2 g/dL. Results The patients included 42 (41.1%) female and 60 (58.9%) male patients. The diagnoses were acute myeloblastic leukemia in 65 (63.7%) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 37 (36.3%). The median age was 26.0 years (range, 13-57). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that patients with serum albumin levels <3.2 g/dL experienced significantly lower overall survival (OS) compared with ≥3.2 g/dL (hazard ratio [HR] 2.32 [range, 1.23-4.54] and HR 2.70 [range 1.38-5.26], respectively; P =.009). The median (range) OS in group 2 was 230.0 (184.0-544.0) days versus 570.5 (249.5-1,101.0) days in group 1 (P =.007). For disease free survival (DFS) evaluation, univariate and multivariate analysis showed that patients with serum albumin levels <3.2 g/dL had significantly lower values compared with patients with serum albumin ≥3.2 g/dL. (HR 2.17 [range 0.98-4.76] and HR 2.85 [range, 1.25-6.66], respectively; P =.046). The median (range) DFS in group 2 was 184.0 (61.0-524.0) days versus 445.0 (199.0-917.5) days in group 1 (P =.045). Among the patient characteristics the presence of infection was a significant independent variable for worse OS (HR 2.12 [range, 0.98-4.36], P =.036). The other parameters - age, sex, donor status, time to transplant interval, conditioning regimens, HLA status, and number of total infused CD34+ cells - showed no significant effect on OS and DFS (P =.05). Conclusions Pretransplantation decreased serum albumin levels were associated with poor survival in patients with leukemia who underwent alloHSCT. © 2013 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Pretransplant iron overload may be associated with increased risk of invasive fungal pneumonia (IFP) in patients that underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT)

Invasive fungal pneumonia (IFP) has become increasingly common in patients that previously underwent alloHSCT. The aim of this study was to determine the role of hyperferritinemia, via iron overload in invasive fungal pneumonia in patients that underwent alloHSCT. Medical records of 73 patients with pneumonia that underwent alloHSCT were studied retrospectively, whereby a pre-transplantation serum ferritin level measured up to 100 days prior to transplantation of patients with invasive fungal pneumonia (IFP) and non-fungal pneumonia (non-IFP) was compared. Patient records revealed 35 and 38 cases of IFP and non-IFP, respectively. In risk evaluation for IFP, age, gender, HLA status, conditioning regimen, smoking history, and underlying disease were not significantly different among groups (p > 0.05). However, performance status (Kamofsky) was significantly lower in patients with IFP (p 0.05). However, performance status (Karnofsky) was significantly lower in patients with IFP (p<0.05). The median ferritin levels were 1705ng/ml (41-7198) in the IFP group and 845ng/ml (18-7099) in non-IFP group and the difference was found statistically significant (p=0.001). Elevated pretransplant serum ferritin level is associated with IFP in patients that underwent alloHSCT, in particular when values exceed 1550ng/ml

Encephalitozoon intestinalis: A Rare Cause of Diarrhea in an Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) Recipient Complicated by Albendazole-Related Hepatotoxicity

A 50-year-old male patient previously diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic (M4) leukemia in July 2009 underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). During the pre-transplant period complete blood count (CBC), liver and renal function tests, coagulation tests, and other parameters were normal. On the first day of transplantation teicoplanin (400 mg d(-1) for the first 3 d, and then 400 mg d(-1) and caspofungin (first dose was 1x70 mg d(-1), followed by 1x50 mg d(-1)) were started intravenously due to white plaques and oropharyngeal candidiasis in the patient's mouth and perianal erythema. On the 14th d of transplantation watery diarrhea occurred, along with abdominal discomfort, nausea, and fatigue