Pentaglobin Efficacy in Reducing the Incidence of Sepsis and Transplant-Related Mortality in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Retrospective Study.

The 12-month mortality rate in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains high, especially with respect to transplant-related mortality (TRM), which includes mortality due to infection complications through the aplasia phase. The aim of this study was to determine whether the administration of Pentaglobin could decrease TRM by lowering sepsis onset or weakening sepsis through the aplasia phase. One hundred and ninety-nine pediatric patients who had undergone HSCT were enrolled in our retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups: the Pentaglobin group, which had received Pentaglobin in addition to the standard antibiotic treatment protocol established for the aplasia phase, and the Control group, which received only the standard treatment. As compared to the control group outcome, Pentaglobin led to a significant decrease in the days of temperature increase ( < 0.001) and a reduced infection-related mortality rate ( = 0.04). In addition, the number of antibiotics used to control infections, and the number of antibiotic therapy changes needed following first-line drug failure, were significantly lowered in the Pentaglobin group as compared to the control group ( < 0.0001). With respect to the onset of new infections following the primary infection detected, the Pentaglobin group showed a significant reduction for bacterial events, as compared to the control group ( < 0.03). Pentaglobin use in patients undergoing HSCT seems to produce a significant decrease in infection-associated TRM rate.