COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates in Kidney Transplant Patients Treated
with Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab
Abstract
Background Despite the limited evidence in immunocompromised
populations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency
Use Authorization in December 2021 for tixagevimab/cilgavimab (T/C)
indicated for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis. T/C has been used
widely at our center, therefore, we sought to determine the safety and
effectiveness of T/C for this indication in a cohort of kidney
transplant recipients. Methods This was a retrospective,
single-center, Institutional Review Board-approved study evaluating the
outcomes of 122 kidney transplant recipients who received
tixagevimab/cilgavimab for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19. Adult
patients who received T/C between January 1 st, 2022
and March 31 st, 2022 were reviewed for inclusion. The
efficacy population (n= 115) comprised those who received two doses and
the safety population (n=122) comprised those who received any amount of
T/C. The primary outcome was the rate of hospitalization for COVID-19
infection within six months of the first dose of T/C. The secondary
outcome was serious adverse events attributed to T/C. Results
Within six months of administration, low rates of hospitalization (2%)
and adverse events (2%) were found, with no incidence of heart failure,
myocardial infarction, or anaphylaxis. Conclusion Overall, our
study demonstrated that T/C in kidney transplant recipients was safe and
associated with low rates of hospitalization for COVID-19 infection when
susceptible Omicron subvariants were dominant.