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While Switzerland has not yet established a systematic approach, the small size of the country and the intensive collaboration between the transplant infectious disease teams facilitate a rapid communication once a donor‐derived infection is suspected. Critical information regarding donor infections is shared rapidly, and appropriate measures are discussed. The long‐term observational Swiss Transplant Cohort Study, which includes >92% of all solid organ recipients collects all relevant infectious disease episodes and facilitates detection of patterns of potential donor‐derived infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fulminant herpetic hepatitis due to herpes simplex virus (HSV), serotype 1 or 2, is a rare but often fatal complication after solid organ transplantation (SOT). HSV hepatitis in SOT recipients can occur either due to primary infection acquired post transplantation, viral reactivation in a seropositive patient, or as donor‐derived infection. Cases of fatal hepatitis have been reported in the liver as well as in other SOT recipients. The fatal outcome is mostly due to delayed diagnosis and treatment, which is explained by the lack of clinical specificity of HSV hepatitis. Methods: We report two cases of fatal donor‐derived HSV hepatitis in liver‐transplanted recipients. We reviewed all published cases of donor‐derived HSV infections after SOT with an evaluation of the presence of prophylaxis and outcome. Results: In both liver recipients, the retrospective determination of HSV serostatus was negative, and both cases occurred in the absence of cytomegalovirus or HSV prophylaxis. A review of the literature showed a significant series of cases of severe hepatitis, mostly fatal, as well as the absence of specific preventive therapy guidelines in cases of HSV serology mismatch. Conclusions: The occurrence of two fatal donor‐derived hepatitis made the Swiss Transplant Infectious Diseases working group modify its national recommendations regarding pretransplant serostatus determination and HSV prophylaxis after liver transplantation. Further studies are needed to assess this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for a standardized approach to reporting infection events in immunocompromised patients. The authors highlight the limitations in current reporting practices and emphasize the importance of accurate and comprehensive reporting in clinical trials and observational studies. They introduce a basic core reporting dataset called "SCORE," which consists of five components that describe an infection event. The authors also provide guidance on additional details that should be included in different types of studies. They recommend the use of a ready-built data collection instrument and established definitions for pathogens and infectious syndromes. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of adopting the proposed reporting dataset to improve research collaboration and advance research in immunocompromised patients. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Infections are an important complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo‐HCT). The present study aimed at determining the landscape of infections occurring in a large cohort of allo‐HCT patients, as well as associated risk factors for infections and for one‐year non‐relapse mortality. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using STCS and EBMT databases to assess the one‐year incidence rate of infection, as well as risk factors for infections and for one‐year non‐relapse mortality among adult allo‐HCT patients transplanted between 2010 and 2014 in Switzerland. Univariable and multivariable quasi‐Poisson and multivariable Cox regression models were used. Results: Of 553 patients included, 486 had an infection with a global incidence rate of 3.66 infections per patient‐year. Among a total of 1534 infections analyzed, viral infections were predominant (n = 1138, 74.2%), followed by bacterial (n = 343, 22.4%) and fungal (n = 53, 3.5%) infections. At one year, the cumulative incidence of relapse and non‐relapse mortality was 26% and 16%, respectively. 195 (35.3%) of patients had at least one episode of severe graft‐versus‐host‐disease (GvHD). A center effect was observed, and underlying disease, donor type, cytomegalovirus serological constellation, and GvHD were also associated with the incidence rate of infections. There was an increased risk for one‐year non‐relapse mortality associated with all pathogens, specifically within two months of infection, and this remained true beyond 2 months of a fungal infection. Conclusion: Despite advances to limit infections in this population, they still occur in most allo‐HCT patients with a major impact on survival at 1 year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]