A new direction for cytomegalovirus prophylaxis among transplant recipients: Benefits and nonviral outcomes of letermovir use as primary CMV prophylaxis.

Purpose Of Review: Letermovir has changed the game of primary prophylaxis against cytomegalovirus (CMV) for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and more recently, solid organ transplant recipients. This is largely due to letermovir's similar efficacy in protecting against CMV reactivation and disease, along with its superior safety profile, notably reduced myelotoxicity, and lack of renal dose adjustment compared to standard agents like valganciclovir. This review will describe the potential benefits and clinical considerations of letermovir as prophylaxis among transplant recipients, with a focus on recent evidence describing nonviral outcomes of CMV.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus outbreak in a pre- and post-cardiothoracic transplant population: Impact of discontinuing multidrug-resistant organism surveillance during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Introduction: Many institutions suspended surveillance and contact precautions for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) at the outset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic due to a lack of resources. Once our institution reinstated surveillance in September 2020, a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) faecium outbreak was detected in the cardiothoracic transplant units, a population in which we had not previously detected outbreaks.

Methods: An outbreak investigation was conducted using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for strain typing and electronic medical record review to determine the clinical characteristics of involved patients.

Transfusion-Transmitted Cache Valley Virus Infection in a Kidney Transplant Recipient With Meningoencephalitis.

Background: Cache Valley virus (CVV) is a mosquito-borne virus that is a rare cause of disease in humans. In the fall of 2020, a patient developed encephalitis 6 weeks following kidney transplantation and receipt of multiple blood transfusions.

Methods: After ruling out more common etiologies, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was performed.

Delayed mortality among solid organ transplant recipients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Introduction: Most studies of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with COVID-19 focus on outcomes within one month of illness onset. Delayed mortality in SOT recipients hospitalized for COVID-19 has not been fully examined.

Methods: We used data from a multicenter registry to calculate mortality by 90 days following initial SARS-CoV-2 detection in SOT recipients hospitalized for COVID-19 and developed multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models to compare risk factors for death by days 28 and 90.

Changing trends in mortality among solid organ transplant recipients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the course of the pandemic.

Mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has declined over the course of the pandemic. Mortality trends specifically in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) are unknown. Using data from a multicenter registry of SOTR hospitalized for COVID-19, we compared 28-day mortality between early 2020 (March 1, 2020-June 19, 2020) and late 2020 (June 20, 2020-December 31, 2020).

Renal allograft function in kidney transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV 2: An academic single center experience.

Background: Kidney transplant recipients are a unique cohort in regard to SARS-CoV 2 susceptibility and clinical course, owing to their immunosuppressed state and propensity for kidney injury. The primary purpose of this study is to ascertain if, in kidney transplant recipients, SARS-CoV 2 infection impacts long term renal allograft function.

Methods: This retrospective, single-center study reviewed 53 kidney transplant recipients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR at NMH from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020.

COVID-19 in hospitalized lung and non-lung solid organ transplant recipients: A comparative analysis from a multicenter study.

Lung transplant recipients (LTR) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have higher mortality than non-lung solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR), but direct comparisons are limited. Risk factors for mortality specifically in LTR have not been explored. We performed a multicenter cohort study of adult SOTR with COVID-19 to compare mortality by 28 days between hospitalized LTR and non-lung SOTR.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Solid Organ Transplant: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to significant reductions in transplantation, motivated in part by concerns of disproportionately more severe disease among solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. However, clinical features, outcomes, and predictors of mortality in SOT recipients are not well described.

Methods: We performed a multicenter cohort study of SOT recipients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19.

COVID-19 in an HIV-positive kidney transplant recipient.

We report a case of a 50-year-old male with a history of HIV and kidney transplant who presented with SARS-CoV-2. We also present a review of COVID-19 cases in kidney transplant recipients.

Infectious Complications in Critically Ill Liver Failure Patients.

Infections remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with liver failure. A number of factors, including relative immune dysfunction and systemic inflammation, bacterial translocation, gut dysbiosis, small intestine bacterial overgrowth, altered bile acid pools, and changes in pH due to acid suppression, contribute to the high rates of infection in this population. Though a range of infections can complicate the course of cirrhotic patients, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), cholangitis, and cholecystitis in addition to other infections (i.