Risk of COVID-19 infection in long-term survivors of blood or marrow transplantation: a BMTSS report.

Abstract

There is limited information regarding COVID-19 in long-term blood or marrow transplant (BMT) survivors. We leveraged the BMT Survivor Study (BMTSS) to address this gap. BMTSS included patients who underwent BMT at 1 of 3 sites in the United States between 1974 and 2014 and survived ≥2 years after BMT. A sibling cohort serves as a non-BMT comparison group. Participants (2430 BMT survivors; 780 non-BMT participants) completed the BMTSS survey between October 2020 and November 2021 about COVID-19 testing, risk mitigation behaviors, morbidity, and health care use. Median age at BMT was 46 years (range, 0-78 years) and median follow-up since BMT was 14 years (6-46 years); 76% were non-Hispanic White, 54% had received allogeneic BMT. The risk of COVID-19 infection was comparable for BMT survivors vs non-BMT participants (15-month cumulative incidence, 6.5% vs 8.1%; adjusted odd ratio [aOR]= 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65-1.33; P= .68). Among survivors, being unemployed (aOR 1.90; 95%CI, 1.12-3.23; P= .02; reference: retired) increased the odds of infection; always wearing a mask in public was protective (aOR= 0.49; 95%CI, 0.31-0.77; P= .002; reference: not always masking). When compared with COVID-positive non-BMT participants, COVID-positive BMT survivors had higher odds of hospitalization (aOR= 2.23; 95%CI, 0.99-5.05; P= .05); however, the odds of emergency department visits were comparable (aOR= 1.60; 95%CI= 0.71-3.58; P= .25). COVID-19 infection status did not increase the odds of hospitalization among BMT survivors (aOR=1.32; 95%CI= 0.89-1.95; P= .17) but did increase the odds of emergency department visits (aOR= 2.63; 95%CI, 1.74-3.98; P <.0001). These findings inform health care providers about the management of care for long-term BMT survivors during the ongoing pandemic.