https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34967134/ liver transplant

Am J Transplant. 2021 Dec 29.
doi: 10.1111/ajt.16937. Online ahead of print.

Live Virus Vaccination Following Pediatric Liver Transplantation: Outcomes from Two Academic Children's Hospital

Alexander M Newman 1, Leila C Posch 2, Lauren Gianchetti 3, Elizabeth B Rand 4 5, Saeed Mohammad 6, Kevin J Downes 3 7 5, William J Muller 1

Abstract

Pediatric liver transplant recipients are often transplanted at a young age, precluding them from receiving live virus vaccinations (LVV) such as varicella (VZV) vaccine and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). This places them at profound risk for vaccine preventable illness. We sought to detail safety of vaccination. This was a retrospective cohort study of pediatric liver transplant recipients at two children's hospitals. Among 204 liver transplant recipients included in the study, 97 received at least one LVV after liver transplant. Six patients who did not receive LVV after transplant had evidence of vaccine-preventable infection following vaccination (1 disseminated VZV disease, 5 VZV-related rash), while one patient who received LVV after transplant developed a diffuse VZV-related rash. Rejection rates were the same between those that did and did not receive a live virus vaccine post-transplant. There were no serious adverse events caused by vaccination post-transplant. Live virus vaccination following liver transplant was safe at our two institutions, although there exist limitations in our study due to its retrospective study design. Larger scale studies should be performed to evaluate the effectiveness of LVV in relation to immunosuppression.