Viral specific T cell therapy in kidney transplant recipients - A single-center experience.

Background: Viral infections such as adenovirus (ADV), BK virus (BKV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) after kidney transplantation negatively impact outcomes in transplant recipients despite advancements in screening and antiviral therapy. We describe our experience of using the virus-specific T cell therapy (VSTs) in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) at our transplant center.

Methods: This is a retrospective, single center review of KTR with ADV, BKV and CMV infections between June 2021 and December 2022.

Allogeneic Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation Outcomes With Decreased or No Systemic Immunosuppression in the Elderly.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report outcomes after allogeneic ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST) for limbal stem cell deficiency in the setting of decreased or no systemic immunosuppression (SI) in the elderly.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of all eyes that underwent OSST for limbal stem cell deficiency between 2005 and 2020 at CVP Physicians. Inclusion criteria included patients who were (1) at least 70 years at the time of (2) allogeneic OSST.

Forty-Year Survival of Simultaneous Kidney and Duct-Injected Segmental Pancreas Transplants in a Recipient Maintained on Low-Dose Azathioprine and Prednisone.

Here, we report on the remarkable survival of a simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant recipient who has received minimal immunosuppression, has had normal kidney function, and has been insulin-free for 40 years since her transplant surgery.

Acute Corneal Epithelial Rejection of LR-CLAL After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report a case of acute corneal epithelial rejection of living-related conjunctival limbal allograft (LR-CLAL) after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination.

Observations: A 27-year-old woman developed acute epithelial rejection of LR-CLAL 2 weeks after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. She received the LR-CLAL transplant 4 years and 7 months previously and had a stable clinical course with no history of rejection.

Expanding the Donor Pool: First Use of Hepatitis B Virus Nat Positive Solid Organ Allografts Into Seronegative Recipients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the 1-year safety and effectiveness of HBV Nucleic Acid Test positive (HBV NAT+) allografts in seronegative kidney transplant (KT) and liver transplant (LT) recipients.

Summary Background Data: Despite an ongoing organ shortage, the utilization of HBV NAT+ allografts into seronegative recipients has not been investigated.

Methods: From January 2017 to October 2020, a prospective cohort study was conducted among consecutive KT and LT recipients at a single institution.

Treatment Options for Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Patients With Reduced or Absent Kidney Function.

Coronavirus disease 2019, the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus, was first identified in the Hubei Province of China in late 2019. Currently, the only role for therapy is treatment of the disease, as opposed to postexposure prophylaxis, however multiple clinical trials are currently ongoing for both treatment and prophylaxis. Treating coronavirus disease 2019 relies on two components; the first is inhibition of the viral entrance and replication within the body and the second is inhibition of an exacerbated immune response which can be seen in patients with severe disease.

Use of Panel-Reactive Antibody Testing in the Planning and Management of Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation.

Purpose: Panel-reactive antibody (PRA) testing has been widely adopted in solid organ transplantation for risk assessment in potential allograft recipients but has not been studied in the context of ophthalmic transplantation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate outcomes in patients undergoing ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST) for limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) relative to preoperative PRA level.

Methods: This is retrospective chart review of all eyes with documented PRA level that underwent OSST for LSCD between May 2000 and March 2019 at a single institution.

Clinical Outcomes of Allogeneic Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation in Pediatric Patients.

Purpose: To describe the outcomes of allograft ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST) and the complication profile of systemic immunosuppression (SI) in pediatric patients with limbal stem cell deficiency.

Methods: This was a retrospective interventional case series from a single tertiary referral institution of 20 eyes from 13 patients who 1) underwent allograft OSST surgery, 2) were 18 years or less at time of OSST, and 3) received SI with 4) a minimum of 12-months follow-up. The main outcome measures were ocular surface stability, visual acuity, and SI adverse events.

Impact of obesity on dialysis and transplant and its management.

Obesity is increasing to unprecedented levels, including in the end-stage kidney disease population, where upwards of 60% of kidney transplant patients are overweight or obese. Obesity poses additional challenges to the care of the dialysis patient, including difficulties in creating vascular access and inserting Tenckhoff catheters, higher rates of catheter malfunction and peritonitis, the need for longer and/or more frequent dialysis (or peritoneal dialysis [PD] exchanges) to achieve adequate clearance, increased metabolic complications particularly with PD, and obesity is a barrier to kidney transplantation. In this article, we review special considerations in performing PD, hemodialysis and transplant in the obese patient, as well as the evidence behind medical and surgical management of obesity in dialysis patients.

Long-term Outcomes of Living-Related Conjunctival Limbal Allograft Compared With Keratolimbal Allograft in Patients With Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency.

Purpose: To compare the long-term outcomes of living-related conjunctival limbal allograft (lr-CLAL) with keratolimbal allograft (KLAL) in patients with limbal stem cell deficiency.

Methods: A retrospective, comparative, interventional cohort of patients with bilateral total limbal stem cell deficiency who underwent surgical treatment with a KLAL or lr-CLAL procedure alone (not combined with any other ocular surface stem cell transplantation procedures) with a minimum follow-up of 1 year and who received systemic immunosuppression. Ocular surface stability, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and postoperative complications at the last follow-up were the main outcome measures.

Reducing Donor-specific Antibody During Acute Rejection Diminishes Long-term Renal Allograft Loss: Comparison of Early and Late Rejection.

Background: Reduction in donor-specific antibody (DSA) has been associated with improved renal allograft survival after antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). These observations have not been separately analyzed for early and late AMR and mixed acute rejection (MAR). The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term responses to proteasome inhibitor-based therapy for 4 rejection phenotypes and to determine factors that predict allograft survival.

Long-term outcomes in patients with obesity and renal disease after sleeve gastrectomy.

Morbid obesity is a barrier to kidney transplant in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is an increasingly considered intervention, but the safety and long-term outcomes are uncertain. We reviewed prospectively collected data on patients with ESRD and chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing SG from 2011 to 2018.

Use of HCV Ab+/NAT- donors in HCV naïve renal transplant recipients to expand the kidney donor pool.

Hepatitis C (HCV) disease transmission from the use of HCV antibody-positive and HCV nucleic acid test-negative (HCV Ab+/NAT-) kidneys have been anecdotally reported to be absent. We prospectively analyzed kidney transplant (KT) outcomes from HCV Ab+/NAT- donors to HCV naïve recipients under T-cell depleting early steroid withdrawal immunosuppression. Allografts from 40 HCV Ab+/NAT- donors were transplanted to 52 HCV Ab- recipients between July 2016 and February 2018.

Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation for Treatment of Keratitis-Ichthyosis-Deafness Syndrome.

Purpose: To report our surgical experience with ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST) for limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) in the setting of keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness (KID) syndrome.

Methods: Retrospective interventional case series.

Results: We present 5 eyes of 3 patients with KID syndrome that developed LSCD and underwent OSST.

Infectious Keratitis After Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation.

Purpose: To describe the rate, clinical/microbiological characteristics, and outcomes of infectious keratitis in eyes with limbal stem cell deficiency after ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST).

Methods: In this retrospective chart review of 278 eyes that underwent OSST between January 2006 and December 2016, eyes treated for previous infectious keratitis (bacterial, fungal, or viral) were included. Demographics, risk factors, course, microbiological characteristics, and outcomes were assessed.

Cincinnati Protocol for Preoperative Screening and Donor Selection for Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation.

Purpose: To describe our process for preoperative screening and donor selection for ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST).

Methods: A 7-year retrospective chart review was performed on limbal stem cell deficiency patients. The inclusion criterion was all patients who underwent an OSST procedure.

Surgical management of severe ocular surface injury due to Roman candle explosion accidents.

Purpose: To report the clinical features, management, and outcomes of patients with ocular surface damage secondary to Roman candle explosion accidents.

Methods: Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series of 11 patients with Roman candle explosion-related ocular surface injuries referred to the Cincinnati Eye Institute between 2007 and 2016.

Results: Eleven patients (10 male, 1 female, mean age 22.

Severe BK polyomavirus-induced hemorrhagic cystitis in a kidney transplant recipient with the absence of renal allograft involvement.

BK polyomavirus mostly manifests as polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PyVAN) in kidney transplant patients and polyoma virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis (PyVHC) in bone marrow transplant patients. PyVHC in kidney transplant patients is only reported in four cases in the literature. Our patient had severe hemorrhagic cystitis without renal involvement.

A phase Ib, open-label, single arm study to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and impact on humoral sensitization of SANGUINATE infusion in patients with end-stage renal disease.

The endeavor to study desensitization in kidney transplantation has not been matched by an effort to investigate strategies to prevent sensitization. In this study (NCT02437422), we investigated the safety, impact on sensitization, and pharmacokinetics of SANGUINATE (SG), a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier, as a potential alternative to packed red blood cells (PRBC) in transplant candidates with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Ten ESRD subjects meeting inclusion/exclusion (I/E) criteria were planned to receive three weekly infusions of SG (320 mg/kg).

Combined Conjunctival Limbal Autografts and Living-Related Conjunctival Limbal Allografts for Severe Unilateral Ocular Surface Failure.

Purpose: To describe the technique and present 2 cases of a combined conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU) and living-related conjunctival limbal allograft (lr-CLAL) procedure for treatment of severe unilateral ocular surface failure.

Methods: Interventional case series of 2 eyes of 2 patients sustaining severe thermal/chemical injuries from firework explosions. They both underwent the combined CLAU/lr-CLAL procedure followed by penetrating keratoplasty.

Long-term Outcomes of Ocular Surface Stem Cell Allograft Transplantation.

Purpose: To investigate the long-term outcomes of ocular surface stem cell allograft transplantation (OSST) in patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) owing to various etiologies with a follow-up ≥ 5 years.

Design: Retrospective interventional cohort.

Methods: Setting: Single tertiary referral hospital.