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Aims Busulfan and treosulfan are cytotoxic agents used in the conditioning regime prior to paediatric haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). These agents cause suppression of myeloid cells leaving patients severely immunocompromised in the early post-HSCT period. The main objectives were: (i) to establish a mechanistic pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PKPD) model for the treatment and engraftment effects on neutrophil counts comparing busulfan and treosulfan-based conditioning, and (ii) to explore current dosing schedules with respect to time to HSCT. Methods Data on 126 patients, 72 receiving busulfan (7 months-18 years, 5.1-47.0 kg) and 54 treosulfan (4 months-17 years, 3.8-35.8 kg), were collected. In total, 8935 neutrophil count observations were recorded during the study period in addition to drug concentrations to develop a mechanistic PKPD model. Absolute neutrophil count profiles were modelled semimechanistically, accounting for transplant effects and differing set points pre- and post-transplant. Results PK were best described by 2-compartment models for both drugs. The Friberg semimechanistic neutropenia model was applied with a linear model for busulfan and a maximum efficacy model for treosulfan describing drug effects at various stages of neutrophil maturation. System parameters were consistent across both drugs. The HSCT was represented by an amount of progenitor cells enhancing the neutrophils' proliferation and maturation compartments. Alemtuzumab was found to enhance the proliferative rate under which the absolute neutrophil count begin to grow after HSCT. Conclusion A semimechanistic PKPD model linking exposure to either busulfan or treosulfan to the neutrophil reconstitution dynamics was successfully built. Alemtuzumab coadministration enhanced the neutrophil proliferative rate after HSCT. Treosulfan administration was suggested to be delayed with respect to time to HSCT, leaving less time between the end of the administration and stem cell infusion.

This study aimed to identify a risk profile for development of transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Between 2013 and 2016, 439 children underwent 474 HSCTs at 2 supraregional United Kingdom centers. At a median of 153 days post-HSCT, TA-TMA occurred among 25 of 441 evaluable cases (5.6%) with no evidence of center variation. Sex, underlying disease, intensity of the conditioning, total body irradiation–based conditioning, the use of calcineurin inhibitors, venoocclusive disease, and viral reactivation did not influence the development of TA-TMA. Donor type: matched sibling donor/matched family donor vs matched unrelated donor vs mismatched unrelated donor/haplo-HSCT, showed a trend toward the development of TA-TMA in 1.8% vs 6.1% vs 8.3%, respectively. Presence of active comorbidity was associated with an increased risk for TA-TMA; 13% vs 3.7% in the absence of comorbidity. The risk of TA-TMA was threefold higher among patients who received >1 transplant. TA-TMA rates were significantly higher among patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) grades III to IV vs aGVHD grade 0 to II. On multivariate analysis, the presence of active comorbidity, >1 transplant, aGVHD grade III to IV were risk factors for TA-TMA (odds ratio [OR]: 5.1, 5.2, and 26.9; respectively), whereas the use of cyclosporine A/tacrolimus-based GVHD prophylaxis was not a risk factor for TA-TMA (OR: 0.3). Active comorbidity, subsequent transplant, and aGVHD grades III to IV were significant risk factors for TA-TMA. TA-TMA might represent a form of a vascular GVHD, and therefore, continuing control of aGVHD is important to prevent worsening of TA-TMA associated with GVHD.

Treosulfan is given off-label in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. This study investigated treosulfan's pharmacokinetics (PKs), efficacy, and safety in a prospective trial. Pediatric patients (n = 87) receiving treosulfan-fludarabine conditioning were followed for at least 1 year posttransplant. PKs were described with a two-compartment model. During follow-up, 11 of 87 patients died and 12 of 87 patients had low engraftment (≤ 20% myeloid chimerism). For each increase in treosulfan area under the curve from zero to infinity (AUC(0-∞) ) of 1,000 mg hour/L the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for mortality increase was 1.46 (1.23-1.74), and the hazard ratio for low engraftment was 0.61 (0.36-1.04). A cumulative AUC(0-∞) of 4,800 mg hour/L maximized the probability of success (> 20% engraftment and no mortality) at 82%. Probability of success with AUC(0-∞) between 80% and 125% of this target were 78% and 79%. Measuring PK at the first dose and individualizing the third dose may be required in nonmalignant disease.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the population pharmacokinetics of posaconazole in immunocompromised children, evaluate the influence of patient characteristics on posaconazole exposure and perform simulations to recommend optimal starting doses.Posaconazole plasma concentrations from paediatric patients undergoing therapeutic drug monitoring were extracted from a tertiary paediatric hospital database. These were merged with covariates collected from electronic sources and case-note reviews. An allometrically scaled population-pharmacokinetic model was developed to investigate the effect of tablet and suspension relative bioavailability, nonlinear bioavailability of suspension, followed by a step-wise covariate model building exercise to identify other important sources of variability.A total of 338 posaconazole plasma concentrations samples were taken from 117 children aged 5 months to 18 years. A one-compartment model was used, with tablet apparent clearance standardised to a 70-kg individual of 15 L/h. Suspension was found to have decreasing bioavailability with increasing dose; the estimated suspension dose to yield half the tablet bioavailability was 99 mg/mIn the largest population-pharmacokinetic study to date in children, we have found similar covariate effects to those seen in adults, but low bioavailability of suspension in patients with diarrhoea or those taking concurrent proton pump inhibitors, which may in particular limit the use of posaconazole in these patients.