WARFARIN INCREASES THE RISK OF VASCULAR CALCIFICATION IN HAEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: A MULTICENTER CASE-CONTROL STUDY

57th ERA-EDTA Congress -- JUN 06-09, 2020 -- ELECTR NETWORKUstuner, Evren/0000-0003-0932-1508; Sadioglu, Rezzan Eren/0000-0001-9761-0320WOS: 000562392100273[No abstract available]ERA, EDT

Warfarin is associated with the risk of vascular calcification in abdominal aorta in hemodialysis patients: a multicenter case-control study

Background/aim: Vascular calcifications (VCs), recognized risk factor for increased mortality, are highly prevalent in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We aimed to investigate the relation between VC and warfarin use with plain radiography. Materials and methods: VCs were assessed using Adragao (radial and digital) and Kauppila (aortic) scores in 76 HD patients from six centers. Out of a total 711 HD patients, there were 32 (4.5%) who had been treated with warfarin for at least 1 year, and we included 44 control patients. Results: Of the patients, 47% were females, the mean age was 66 +/- 9 years, 23% were diabetics, the mean dialysis vintage was 68 +/- 38 months. In warfarin group, median Kauppila score was higher than in control group [11 vs 6.5, (25%-75% percentile, 5 vs. 15), p = 0.032] and the percentage of the patients with a Kauppila score of >6 was higher, as well (76.6% vs. 50%; p = 0.029). Median Adragao score was not significantly different between the two groups [7 vs. 6, (%25,%75 percentile 6 vs. 8), p = 0.17]. Logistic regression analysis revealed that warfarin treatment was independently associated with Kauppila scores of >6 (OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.18-10.9, p = 0.024). Conclusion: In this study, we found that warfarin is associated to vascular calcifications, especially in aorta of HD patients

Pre-transplant sTIM-3 levels may have a predictive impact on transplant outcome in acute leukemia patients

Objectives:T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein-3 (TIM-3) is considered as a negative regulator of T-cell driven immune response. This study is planned to investigate the prognostic role of pre-transplant soluble TIM-3 (sTIM-3) levels in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients.Methods:Pre-transplant serum sTIM-3 levels were measured in 177 allo-HSCT recipients {[}median age: 36(16-66) years; male/female: 111/66].Results:Pre-transplant sTIM-3 levels were significantly higher in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients compared to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients (p = 0.01). Pre-transplant sTIM-3 levels were significantly lower in patients with abnormal cytogenetics (p = 0.017). Pre-transplant sTIM-3 levels were significantly higher in patients who developed viral hemorrhagic cystitis (p = 0.034). A positive correlation was demonstrated between sTIM-3 levels and acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) grade (p = 0.013;r = 0.299). Overall survival (OS) was not statistically different between low- and high-TIM-3 groups (\%35.2 vs \%20.4;p > 0.05). Primary diagnosis (p = 0.042), sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (p < 0.001), acute GvHD (p = 0.001), chronic GvHD (p = 0.009) and post-transplant relapse (p = 0.003) represented significant impact on OS.Discussion:Increased sTIM-3 levels in AML patients seem to be compatible with the previous reports. The inhibitor role of TIM-3 in cellular immune response may be a possible explanation for the association of sTIM-3 with viral infections and GvHD. However, the main challenge remains to be the ambiguous association of pre-transplant sTIM-3 levels and post-transplant complications, as allo-HSCT recipients are expected to represent donor genetic features in the post-transplant setting.Conclusion:Further studies are warranted to clarify the particular role of sTIM-3 in the allo-HSCT setting

Antibody response to two doses of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac) in kidney transplant recipients

Background Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) has high mortality in kidney transplant recipients (KTR), and vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is vital for this population. Although the humoral response to messenger RNA vaccines was shown to be impaired in KTR, there is a lack of data regarding the antibody response to inactivated vaccines. We investigated the antibody response to two consequent doses of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac; Sinovac Biotech, China). Methods A total of 118 patients from two centers were included. The levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin-G antibodies against the nucleocapsid and spike antigens were determined with enzyme immunoassay (DIA.PRO; Milano, Italy) before the vaccine and one month after the second dose of the vaccine. Thirty-three patients were excluded due to antibody positivity in the serum samples obtained before vaccination. Results Eighty-five patients, 47 of whom were female, with a mean age of 46 +/- 12, were included in the statistical analysis. The maintenance immunosuppressive therapy comprised tacrolimus (88.2%), mycophenolate (63.6%), and low-dose steroids (95.3%) in the majority of the patients. After a median of 31 days following the second dose of the vaccine, only 16 (18.8%) patients developed an antibody response. The median (IQR) antibody level was 52.5 IU/ml (21.5-96). Age (48 vs. 38, p = .005) and serum creatinine levels (1.14 vs. 0.91, p = .04) were higher in non-responders and were also found to be independently associated with the antibody response (odds ratio (OR): 0.93, p = 0.012 and 0.15, p = 0.045, respectively) in multivariate analysis. Conclusion In this study, we found the antibody response to the inactivated vaccine to be considerably low (18.8%) in KTR. Increased age and impaired renal function were associated with worse antibody response. Based on the knowledge that mRNA vaccines yield better humoral responses, this special population might be considered for additional doses of mRNA vaccination