2.1 | Patient Composition
A retrospective review of pre-transplant RV PCR, symptom screening, and
clinical outcomes was done for all patients receiving allogeneic HSCT
from June 1 2016 to March 31 2023 at Children\RL’s National Hospital
in the District of Columbia (D.C.). All types of allogeneic stem cell
sources were included in the study, such as bone marrow (BM), cord
blood, peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), and combinations. Autologous
transplants were excluded. Patients missing one or both of their
pre-transplant RV PCR tests were excluded from the study. Patients who
received more than one HSCT in this time had their second transplant
excluded if it was received within 100 days of their first transplant
and/or if the second transplant was done within the same hospital
admission, as they would not have received appropriate RV PCR testing
for the study. Patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) as
an indication for transplant were also excluded due to the higher
likelihood of an RV-positive result and poorer post-transplant outcomes.
Patients who met all criteria were identified using the bone and marrow
transplant department\RL’s patient database. If patients were
intentionally delayed based on an RV PCR result, the RV PCR results used
in this study were the last pre-transplant one before admission. Online
medical records were obtained and reviewed to collect relevant
information from the time of the first pre-admission RV PCR to 100 days
post-transplant.