Objective To improve the knowledge of lung injury induced by rituximab. Methods Clinical data of 5 lymphoma patients with lung injury caused by rituximab chemotherapy were analyzed. Results Five patients received chemotherapy including rituximab, and had fever, cough and dyspnea after 3 to 5 chemotherapy cycles. Chest CT showed bilateral diffuse interstitial infiltrates. All 5 cases experienced hypoxemia or respiratory failure. Clinical symptoms were improved 3 to 5 days after the treatment of glucocorticoids, and pulmonary lesions were significantly alleviated 1 to 2 weeks after the treatment. According to the literature, the incidence rate of lung injury caused by rituximab was 0. 03% to 4. 9%, which has increased recently. Conclusions With the comprehensive application of rituximab, lung injury caused by this drug is not rare. The good prognosis depends on early diagnosis and treatment by further recognition of the side effect of rituximab.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is an autoimmune disease in which the life span of red blood cells is shortened by red blood cell autoantibodies. Due to immune intolerance and abnormal immune regulation, the hyperfunction of B lymphocytes produces too many red blood cell autoantibodies. Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody is a second-line drug for warm antibody AIHA and first-line drug for cold antibody AIHA by reducing B lymphocytes. At present, the optimal dose of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody in the treatment of AIHA has not been determined. There are no reports on the treatment of primary AIHA with second- or third-generation anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies.
Objective To systematically evaluate the pharmacoeconomic vaule of chemotherapy combined with rituximab for patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL). Methods A systematic literature search of cost-effectiveness studies on rituximab treating NHL published from 1998 to 2012 was carried out in following databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR). And the references of included studies were also retrieved manually. The studies were screened according to the pre-designed inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the incremental cost- effectiveness ratio (ICER) in comparison between chemotherapy plus rituximab and chemotherapy alone was systematically evaluated according to the literature evaluation index system. Results The average ICER of Rituximab treating NHL was 16 318/QALY, 17 688/QALY, and 22 461/QALY in the UK, Mainland Europe, and US, respectively. All the reported ICERs in the included studies were below the implemented country-specific thresholds. Conclusion Based on present foreign literature, the integrated therapy of chemotherapy and rituximab for NHL is supposed to be a better cost-effective therapy with ICER below the implemented country-specific thresholds.
Objective To apply the evidence-based treatment method to direct the clinical therapy of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Methods Such evidence-based medicine databases as The Cochrane Library (Issue 10, 2010), OVID database, PubMed (January 1992 to October 2010) and http://www.nccn.org/ were searched to find the clinical evidence with high quality and the optimum treatment was designed based on the patient’s preferences. Results Two RCTs and five CCTs were included. The available clinical evidence displayed that rituximab could improve the therapeutic effect of combined chemotherapy on the refractory CLL, the COP/CHOP regimens were effective for the fludarabine-resistant CLL, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation could be an effective salvage therapy for the relapsed/refractory CLL, but not the first-line recommendation drug. This patient was treated by CHOP regimen combined with rituximab, the condition of disease was improved two months after stopping chemotherapy, and the follow-up was conducted. Conclusion Current evidence reveals that rituximab combined with CHOP regimen produces good tolerance with a better clinical outcome than that of CHOP regimen. Clinical practice results display that the combination of rituximab and CHOP regimen can bring good prognosis to the patient, but still needs high-quality evidence to prove．
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effect of Rituximab combined with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in preventing blood group antibody mediated rejection (AMR) in pediatric ABO incompatible living donor liver transplantation (ABOi-LDLT).MethodsA total of 503 cases of pediatric living donor liver transplantation in Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from June 2013 to December 2020 were retrospectively collected; the overall survival of recipient and graft were compared between ABOi-LDLT and ABO compatible living donor liver transplantation (ABOc-LDLT), and we summarized the data of AMR in 7 cases received Rituximab+IVIG protocol.ResultsThere were 53 cases of ABOi-LDLT and 450 cases of ABOc-LDLT in our study. The 5-year cumulative survival rate of recipients and grafts was 98.0% and 96.0% in the ABOi-LDLT group respectively, and in ABOc-LDLT group was 92.2% and 89.1% respectively, there was no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.232, P=0.381）. Seven children with blood group antibody titer >1∶64 were included in the study. On the basis of classical intensive immunosuppressive therapy, all patients were treated with Rituximab+IVIG. The blood group antibody titer of 6 patients remained stable, and no rejection occurred; one patient developed severe AMR and graft failure, and recovered after salvage treatment of ABOc-LDLT.ConclusionRituximab+IVIG can be used as an effective therapeutic option to prevent blood group AMR after ABOi-LDLT.
Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen expressed on B cells. It has been successfully employed in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and varied systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Recently its efficacy in the treatment of ocular inflammatory diseases (OID), including refractory scleritis, peripheral ulcerative keratitis, uveitis, and ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, has aroused more concerns. The literature suggests that RTX may be useful for controlling the inflammation and decreasing or stopping the use of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressants in OID, which may contribute a new treatment alternative in patients with the recalcitrant and sight-threatening forms of OID. This article reviews the clinical application status of RTX in the treatment of OID.
ObjectiveTo summarize experience of clinical diagnosis and treatment for liver posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder(PTLD). Method The clinical diagnosis and treatment processes of 3 patients with live PTLD in this hospital were retrospectively analyzed and the relevant literatures were reviewed. ResultsThe EB virus was negative and CD20 was positive for these 3 patients with liver PTLD, the time of onset was 10 to 12 years after liver transplantation, and the tacrolimus was given for anti-immune following liver transplantation. The pathological diagnosis was diffuse large B cell lymphoma for all the patients. ConclusionsWith use of large quantities of immunosuppressive drugs following liver transplantation, incidence of liver PTLD gradually rises. Meanwhile, prognosis is poor and early diagnosis is difficult. Currently, diagnosis and classification is still dependent on pathological examination. EB virus positive patients show earlier onset, while EB negative patients show later onset with a poorer prognosis. Therefore, a long-term follow-up should be conducted for early detection, and rituximab should be administrated to patients with CD20(+).