Summary. The predictable neutropenia that follows allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) may be associated with recurrence of previous life-threatening infection. We describe nine patients with either previous invasive aspergillosis (IA) or considered to be at high risk of developing IA who underwent ASCT with prophylactic granulocyte transfusions. The study group, when compared with a control group, had a significant reduction in the incidence and duration of fevers (P < 0AE05) and maximum C-reactive protein (P < 0AE05). There were significantly fewer days of neutropenia (P < 0AE05). There was also radiological improvement of pulmonary infiltrates in four out of seven assessable patients. No serious toxicity was encountered in donors or recipients. We conclude that prophylactic granulocyte donations can be given safely, and that they significantly reduce the number of days of neutropenia. Further investigation is warranted to determine whether granulocyte donations can prevent the recurrence of IA in patients at risk of fungal infection.

Summary:We evaluated the outcome of 29 patients (age 22-60 years), who received a CD34+selected related (n ¼ 16) or unrelated graft (n ¼ 13) with limited T-cell addback (TCAB) (median 5.9 Â 10 4 /kg) following full-intensity conditioning for haematological malignancies. In all, 16 patients (55%) had either advanced disease or previous transplants. The cumulative incidences of grade 2-4 acute GVHD were 15.4 and 19.2% and that for chronic extensive GVHD were 35 and 37% in related and unrelated graft recipients, respectively. The strongest predictor of nonrelapse mortality and overall survival was the absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) at 30 days; patients with ALCo0.35 Â 10 9 /l having an NRM and OS of 59.2 and 24.7%, compared to 10 and 90% in those with a higher ALC. Patients with acute leukaemia had poorer survival and this was associated with a lower ALC as well. Thus, TCAB with a CD34+ selected graft resulted in a comparable outcome in both older and younger patients, but the survival was strongly influenced by early lymphocyte recovery.

Summary:We compared the incidence and outcome of preemptively treated cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, lymphocyte recovery and non-CMV infections between two different TCD modalities, one employing CD34 þ selection and Tcell add-back (TCAB), preceded by Campath-1H in vivo (CD34 þ /TCAB group, n ¼ 29), and the other using grafts incubated with Campath-1H in vitro (Campath-1H in vitro group, n ¼ 32). The probabilities of CMV reactivation and recurrence were 67 and 83.6% in the CD34 þ /TCAB group and 42.9 and 20% in the Campath-1H group (P ¼ 0.07 and 0.02). Donor seropositivity reduced CMV reactivation in the Campath-1H group, but not in the CD34 þ /TCAB group. The durations of positive PCR/antigenemia positivity and antiviral therapy were also significantly longer in the CD34 þ /TCAB group. However, only two patients developed CMV disease in each group. The mean absolute lymphocyte counts ( Â 10 9 /l) at 30 days (0.27 vs 0.4, P ¼ 0.03) and 100 days (0.77 vs 1.4, P ¼ 0.01) were significantly lower in the CD34 þ /TCAB group along with a higher incidence of non-CMV infections in CMV at-risk patients, but not in the CMV low-risk group. These findings suggest that the modality of TCD should be tailored according to the CMV risk status, and CMV sero-positive patients should receive a less extensively Tcell-depleted graft and a CMV sero-positive graft if possible.

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4306 VOD is a serious and potentially life-threatening complication of HPCT as a result of liver injury from the effect of chemotherapy and/or radiation. The reported incidence rate in pediatric HPCT patients varies widely from 5% to 40%. Previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of post-transplant pharmacological therapies such as ursodeoxyholic acid (ursodiol), heparin, and defibrotide at preventing VOD. However, the combined effect of heparin and ursodiol prophylaxis in preventing VOD in pediatric patients has yet to be determined. This study evaluated retrospectively whether there was a benefit of such combined therapy in pediatric HPCT patients. Our center adopted as standard practice for all HPCT patients the initiation of low dose heparin at 4 units/kg/hour with the commencement of conditioning for HPCT until day +28 post transplant. In 2003, we combined ursodiol 10 mg/kg TID to start with HPCT conditioning and to continue until day + 100 post transplant with low dose heparin through day + 28 for all pediatric HPCT patients. We performed a retrospective chart review and compared the characteristics and the incidence of VOD in patients who underwent transplantation from 1996-2002 and received heparin alone compared to 2003-2008 when the patients received the combination of heparin and ursodiol prophylaxis. Patients were identified through medical records with the ICD diagnosis of VOD. The medical records were reviewed and those patients who did not meet the Baltimore criteria for the diagnosis of VOD were excluded. Only patients who developed VOD with their first transplants were included. Group I = Heparin (216) Group II = Heparin + Ursodiol (220) Allogeneic 187 (86.5%) 160 (72.7%) Autologous 29 (13.5%) 60 (27.3%) Median Age 9 yrs 8 yrs Male 123 (57%) 135 (62%) Female 93 (43%) 85 (38%) Non-malignant 34 (15.7%) 50 (22.8%) Hematologic malignancy 143 (66.2%) 109 (49.5%) Non-hematologic malignancy 39 (18.1%) 61 (27.7%) # VOD 13 5 The 100 day incidence of VOD was 0.0605 (SE 0.01618) in group 1 and 0.0227 (SE 0.01002) in group 2. The difference is 0.0377 (SE 0.0190) and based on a standard normal distribution with a p = 0.0473. The estimated risk of VOD for patients receiving Heparin + Ursodiol is 0.94 (risk or hazard ratio) that of the risk with Heparin alone, with a 95% confidence interval of (0.918, 0.960). This represents about a 6% reduction in risk for those receiving Heparin + Ursodiol. The day 100 survival in the VOD patients was 6 out of 13 in group 1 and 3 out of 5 in group 2. In conclusion, low dose heparin and ursodiol prophylaxis appears to be an effective strategy in VOD prevention in pediatric patients. The combination appeared to be more effective than heparin alone. However, this study is limited in that it is retrospective in nature. Disclosures: Off Label Use: heparin and ursodiol as VOD prophylaxis.