Successful Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation in Active COVID-19 Patients: Case Report

Riad Amer; Ali Sabateen; Yousef El-Hamshary; Husam Salameh; Basel Hroub; Hazem Sawalhi; Osama Sawalmeh

doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2023.02.032

Successful Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation in Active COVID-19 Patients: Case Report

Transplant Proc. 2023 Apr;55(3):543-546. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2023.02.032. Epub 2023 Feb 27.

Authors

Riad Amer¹, Ali Sabateen², Yousef El-Hamshary³, Husam Salameh⁴, Basel Hroub², Hazem Sawalhi⁵, Osama Sawalmeh²

Affiliations

¹ Hemato-oncology unit, Internal Medicine Department, An-Najah National University Hospital, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. Electronic address: Riadamer@najah.edu.
² Internal Medicine Department, An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus, Palestine.
³ Internal Medicine Department, An-Najah National University Hospital, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
⁴ Hemato-oncology unit, Internal Medicine Department, An-Najah National University Hospital, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
⁵ and Laboratory Department, An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus, Palestine.

Abstract

Background: Patients with hematologic malignancies are considered at high risk for COVID-19 infection either from the disease or the treatment. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, one of the approved therapies for hematologic malignancies, was performed worldwide during the COVID-19 era with some regulations, such as COVID-19 testing, before proceeding with transplantation or cellular therapy. To the authors' knowledge, none have reported the result of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in an active COVID-19 patient.

Case presentation: We describe a successful clinical course of autologous bone marrow transplantation for 2 lymphoma patients who tested positive for COVID-19. A thorough discussion was conducted between multidisciplinary hemato-oncology, intensive care, and infectious diseases teams. The decision was to proceed toward bone marrow transplantation with some modifications in the transplantation protocol and close patient monitoring.

Conclusion: Our cases lend credence that successful autologous bone marrow transplantation is possible among active COVID-19 patients. The obstacles we faced could be overcome with collaboration between a highly qualified multidisciplinary team. Despite the potential complications, the benefits of bone marrow transplantation among patients with a high risk of relapse and who are still COVID-19-positive outweigh the risks. However, further studies are still recommended to support our inference.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Bone Marrow Transplantation / adverse effects
COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19*
Hematologic Neoplasms*
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* / adverse effects
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* / methods
Humans
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / etiology
Transplantation, Autologous