Endemic viral infections in immunocompromised hosts: Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika.

Purpose Of Review: Arbovirus infections are a challenge for immunocompromised hosts who travel to or live in endemic regions or who receive organs or tissues from donors who travel or live in such areas. This review addresses Dengue (DENV), Chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV) infections in hematological patients, hematopoietic cell or solid organ transplant recipients, and people with HIV (PWH).

Recent Findings: Transmission is mainly due through Aedes mosquito bite.

Prevalence and clinical consequences of Hepatitis C virus infection in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients. In Brazil, its occurrence in HCT recipients remains undetermined. We now report on HCV prevalence in HCT recipients and its clinical consequences.

Low utilization of vancomycin in febrile neutropenia: real-world evidence from 4 Brazilian centers.

Purpose: The prompt initiation of a betalactam antibiotic in febrile neutropenic patients is considered standard of care, while the empiric use of vancomycin is recommended by guidelines in specific situations, with a low level of evidence. The objective of this study was to assess the utilization of vancomycin in the management of febrile neutropenia within four Brazilian medical centers that implemented more stringent criteria for its administration.

Methods: A comprehensive retrospective analysis was performed encompassing all instances of febrile neutropenia observed during the period from 2013 to 2019.

Prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation comparing tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assay.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation candidates, using tuberculin skin test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold-Plus, in a high-burden tuberculosis country. Adult candidates for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation performed both tests before and those submitted to transplantation were followed up for 12 months. The prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection was 17.

Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Acute Leukemia: Comparison Between Acute Myeloid and Acute Lymphoid Leukemia.

Background: The epidemiology of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) has not been well characterized.

Objectives: To identify potential peculiarities in the natural history, treatment response and outcome of IA diagnosed in patients with ALL and AML.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted in seven tertiary-care hospitals between 2009 and 2017 of all consecutive episodes of IA occurring in adult patients with acute leukemia.

Hepatitis B virus among hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: Antiviral impact in seroconversion, engraftment, and mortality in a Latin American center.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide concern with a broad distribution. In immunosuppressed populations, such as solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, it can reactivate leading to acute hepatic failure. Different risk factors are known for higher rates of reactivation, and entecavir, tenofovir, and lamivudine are often used for prophylaxis and treatment.

Pneumonia during Brentuximab Vedotin Therapy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Brentuximab vedotin (BV), an antibody drug conjugate against CD30, has been increasingly used in clinical practice, and the less common adverse events associated to the drug are not well described. Also, opportunistic infections have been reported, and data on immune reconstitution after use of BV are lacking. The authors describe a case of a 45-year-old man with Hodgkin lymphoma receiving BV as a consolidation therapy after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying bla assigned to ST308: Indicated non-virulence in a Galleria mellonella model.

Objectives: Based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profile, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of eight carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from a bone marrow transplant unit in São Paulo, Brazil, was performed to investigate the presence of resistance and virulence genes as well as to determine the sequence type (ST) by multilocus sequence typing (MLST).

Methods: The initial phenotypic susceptibility pattern of the isolates was determined by VITEK2. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the broth microdilution method for amikacin, meropenem and colistin.

Cytomegalovirus infection in transplant recipients.

Cytomegalovirus infection is a frequent complication after transplantation. This infection occurs due to transmission from the transplanted organ, due to reactivation of latent infection, or after a primary infection in seronegative patients and can be defined as follows: latent infection, active infection, viral syndrome or invasive disease. This condition occurs mainly between 30 and 90 days after transplantation.

Disseminated Fusarium infection in autologous stem cell transplant recipient.

Disseminated infection by Fusarium is a rare, frequently lethal condition in severely immunocompromised patients, including bone marrow transplant recipients. However, autologous bone marrow transplant recipients are not expected to be at high risk to develop fusariosis. We report a rare case of lethal disseminated Fusarium infection in an autologous bone marrow transplant recipient during pre-engraftment phase.

Tuberculosis in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.

Literature on tuberculosis (TB) occurring in recipients of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) is scanty even in countries where TB is common. Most reports of TB in HSCT patients were from ASIA, in fact the TB incidence ranging from 0.0014 (USA) to 16% (Pakistan).