HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Current practice in diagnosis and treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease: results from a survey among German-Austrian-Swiss hematopoietic stem cell transplant centers.

Abstract
To assess current clinical practice in diagnosis and treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), we performed a survey among German, Austrian, and Swiss allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) centers. Thirty-four of 72 contacted centers (47%) completed both the diagnostic and therapeutic sections of the survey, representing 65% of allo-HSCT activity within the participating countries in 2011. Three pediatric centers answered as requested only the diagnostic part of the survey. In the presence of diarrhea and decreased oral intake after engraftment, only 4 centers (12%) do not perform any endoscopy before the start of immunosuppressive treatment. In case of a skin rash with the differential diagnosis of drug reaction, only 12 centers (35%) perform a skin biopsy up front, whereas 19 do so after failure of systemic steroids. In the presence of rapidly increasing cholestasis occurring without any other signs of aGVHD, 11 centers (32%) perform a liver biopsy up front and 14 only after failure of steroid treatment, whereas 9 centers do not perform a liver biopsy at all. Twenty centers (59%) use a percutaneous approach, 12 a transvenous approach, and 1 mini-laparoscopy for liver biopsies. First-line treatment of cutaneous aGVHD stage 1 consists of topical treatment alone in 17 of 31 responding centers (61%), whereas isolated cutaneous aGVHD stage III is treated with systemic steroids (prednisolone below 0.5 mg/kg/day n = 2, 0.5 to 1.0 mg/kg/day n = 10, above 1.0 to 2.5 mg/kg/day n = 19) without or with topical agents (steroids n = 10; calcineurin inhibitors n = 3). In gastrointestinal manifestations of aGVHD, 9 centers (29%) add topical to systemic steroids, and 3 consider topical steroids as the only treatment for mild gastrointestinal and cutaneous aGVHD. The choice of agent for second-line treatment as well as the sequence of administration are extremely heterogeneous, most likely due to a lack of convincing data published. Most frequently used are mycophenolate mofetil (n = 14) and extracorporeal photopheresis (n = 10). Our survey also demonstrates that clinicians chose salvage therapies for steroid-refractory aGVHD based on their centers' own clinical experience.
AuthorsDaniel Wolff, Francis Ayuk, Ahmet Elmaagacli, Hartmut Bertz, Anita Lawitschka, Michael Schleuning, Ralf-Georg Meyer, Armin Gerbitz, Inken Hilgendorf, Gerhard C Hildebrandt, Matthias Edinger, Stephan Klein, Jörg Halter, Sabine Mousset, Ernst Holler, Hildegard T Greinix
JournalBiology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (Biol Blood Marrow Transplant) Vol. 19 Issue 5 Pg. 767-76 (May 2013) ISSN: 1523-6536 [Electronic] United States
PMID23376495 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
CopyrightCopyright © 2013 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Topics
  • Acute Disease
  • Austria
  • Data Collection
  • Germany
  • Graft vs Host Disease (diagnosis, drug therapy, therapy)
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (methods, statistics & numerical data)
  • Humans
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians' (statistics & numerical data)
  • Switzerland
  • Treatment Outcome

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: