• Takanori Ohta, Toshiyuki Ueno, Yasufumi Uehara, Takashi Yokoyama, Megumi Nakazawa, Yoriko Sato, Yujiro Uchida, Yuju Ohno, and Yasuhiro Sugio.
• Department of Hematology, Kitakyushu Municipal Medical Center, Japan.
• Intern. Med. 2023 Nov 15; 62 (22): 330533163305-3316.

AbstractObjective Infections after a second hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) occur commonly and are associated with high mortality. However, studies on bloodstream infection (BSI) after a second HSCT are lacking. We therefore evaluated the details of BSI after a second HSCT. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the incidence, etiology, risk factors, and outcomes of BSI after a second HSCT. Patients Fifty-two adult patients with hematological malignancies who underwent allogeneic HSCT, including cord blood transplantation (CBT; n=33), as the second transplantation were enrolled. The second transplantation was limited to allogeneic HSCT. Patients who underwent HSCT for graft failure were excluded. Results The median HSCT interval was 438 (range: 39-3,893) days. Overall, 31 (59.6%) patients received autologous HSCT as the first HSCT. The cumulative incidence of BSI was 40.4% at 100 days after the second HSCT, with Gram-positive bacteria accounting for the majority (30.8%) of pathogens. Overall, 92.0% of BSIs occurred during the pre-engraftment period, and Enterococcus faecium accounted for 29.6% of pathogens. On a multivariate analysis, CBT was most closely associated with pre-engraftment BSI after the second HSCT (hazard ratio: 3.43, 95% confidence interval: 1.05-11.23, p=0.042). The 1-year survival rate after the second HSCT was lower in patients with BSI than in patients without BSI (p=0.10). Conclusion BSI is common after a second HSCT, especially with CBT. During the pre-engraftment period, BSI caused by pathogens such as E. faecium should be anticipated and appropriately treated to improve transplant outcomes.

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