Ruxolitinib as Adjunctive Therapy for Hemophagocytic LymPhohistiocytosis after Liver Transplantation: A Case Report and Literature Review

Kang He; Shanshan Xu; Lijing Shen; Xiaosong Chen; Qiang Xia; Yongbing Qian

doi:10.3390/jcm11216308

Ruxolitinib as Adjunctive Therapy for Hemophagocytic LymPhohistiocytosis after Liver Transplantation: A Case Report and Literature Review

J Clin Med. 2022 Oct 26;11(21):6308. doi: 10.3390/jcm11216308.

Authors

Kang He^{1

2

3}, Shanshan Xu^{1

2

3}, Lijing Shen⁴, Xiaosong Chen^{1

2

3}, Qiang Xia^{1

2

3}, Yongbing Qian^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Liver Surgery, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China.
² Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Transplantation and Immunology, Shanghai 200127, China.
³ Shanghai Institute of Transplantation, Shanghai 200127, China.
⁴ Department of Hematology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China.

Abstract

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare but potentially fatal hyperinflammatory disorder characterized by dysfunctional cytotoxic T and natural killer cells. Liver transplantation is a predisposing factor for HLH. High mortality rates were reported in 40 cases of HLH following liver transplantation in adults and children. Herein, we describe a case of adult HLH triggered by cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection shortly after liver transplantation. The patient was successfully treated with ruxolitinib combined with a modified HLH-2004 treatment strategy. Our case is the first to report the successful use of ruxolitinib with a modified HLH-2004 strategy to treat HLH in a solid organ transplantation recipient.

Keywords: hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; liver transplantation; ruxolitinib.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.