Treatment with monoclonal antibodies minimize severity of covid-19 illness among kidney transplant recipients

ABSTRACT

Background: The mortality rate of kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 is significantly higher than the general population, indicating a need for effective treatment to minimize potential severe symptoms in this population. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of monoclonal antibody therapy in decreasing the severity of COVID-19 symptoms among our kidney transplant recipients. Methods: We reviewed 17 kidney transplant recipients who were infected with SARS-CoV2 and received treatment with monoclonal antibody therapy. All patients were on standard immunosuppression with Tacrolimus and Prednisone, and 88% were on Mycophenolate prior to COVID diagnosis, which was subsequently reduced or held for at least 2 weeks. Results: Of the 17 patients reviewed, median age was 61 years (range 42 to 77 years), 47% were male, 59% were Hispanic, and 29% were African American. Additionally 94% had history of hypertension, 47% diabetes mellitus, 18% coronary artery disease, and median BMI was 28.8 (range 23.4 to 41.9). Eighteen percent were transplanted <1 year, 29% between 1-5 years, 24% 6-10 years, and the remaining >10 years. All patients had mild symptoms without evidence of hypoxia, and 94% received monoclonal antibody therapy within 7 days of diagnosis. Bamlanivimab 700mg was the most commonly administered agent at 59%, while 18% received Bamlanivimab 700mg and Etesevimab 1400mg. Casirivimab 1200 mg and imdevimab 1200 mg was used in 24%. Only 2 out of the 17 patients (11.8%) required hospitalization, and both were non-COVID-19 related reasons. Five out of 17 patients (29.4%) were evaluated in the Emergency Department but not admitted. All 17 patients (100%) recovered from their COVID-19 illness. There were no episodes of graft failure. Conclusions: Our experience suggests that monoclonal antibody therapies may be beneficial in preventing severe COVID-19 in renal transplant recipients and possibly reduce the need for COVID-19 related hospitalization in this high risk population. However, larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.