Risk of infection according to the gamma globulin level in the 100 days following allogeneic stem cell transplantations
Résumé
Background: Immunoglobulin replacement therapy is recommended in case of severe hypogammaglobulinemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). However, the supposed increased risk of infection in case of hypogammaglobulinemia has not been confirmed in allo-HSCT. In this study, we assessed the relationship between the gamma globulin level and the risk of infection during the 100 days following the allo-HSCT.
Methods: We gathered the weekly laboratory tests from day 7 to day 100 of 76 allograft patients, giving a total of 1 044 tests. 130 infections were documented clinically, by imaging, or microbiologically.
Results: Average gamma globulin levels between D-7 and D100 did not differ between patients with or without infection (642 ± 232 and 671 ± 246 mg/dL, respectively, P = .65). Gamma globulin level <400 mg/dl was not associated with the occurrence of infection between the test studied and the next one (aOR 1.33 [0.84-2.15], P = .24). The gamma globulin level was not predictive of bacterial or fungal infections (AUC 0.54 [95%CI: 0.47-0.61]) nor of viral reactivations (AUC 0.51 [95%CI: 0.43-0.60]).
Conclusions: This confirmed that the humoral deficiency is a minor part of the immune deficiency in the 100 days post-transplant. This questions the relevance of the indications of immunoglobulin substitution during this period.