Donor respiratory multidrug-resistant bacteria and lung transplantation outcomes.

Rationale: Respiratory culture screening is mandatory for all potential lung transplant donors. There is limited evidence on the significance of donor multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria on transplant outcomes. Establishing the safety of allografts colonized with MDR bacteria has implications for widening an already limited donor pool.

Early use of tocilizumab in solid organ transplant recipients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Tocilizumab was studied to reduce cytokine syndrome in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with conflicting results. We aim to study the early use of tocilizumab in SOT with COVID-19 pneumonia on low flow oxygen.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that was conducted in two transplant centers in Saudi Arabia among 46 SOT with COVID-19 comparing 21 patients who received tocilizumab to 25 patients who received standard of care.

Re-infection with a different SARS-CoV-2 clade and prolonged viral shedding in a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patient.

Immunocompromised patients who have a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection pose many clinical and public health challenges. We describe the case of a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patient with lymphoma who had a protracted illness requiring three consecutive hospital admissions. Whole genome sequencing confirmed two different SARS-CoV-2 clades.