Factors associated with favourable 5 year outcomes in islet transplant alone recipients with type 1 diabetes complicated by severe hypoglycaemia in the Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Islet transplantation has been studied in small cohorts of recipients with type 1 diabetes complicated by severe hypoglycaemic events (SHEs). We determined factors associated with favourable outcomes in a large cohort of recipients reported to the Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR).

METHODS

In 398 non-uraemic islet transplant alone (ITA) recipients with type 1 diabetes and SHEs, transplanted between 1999 and 2015 and with at least 1 year follow-up, we analysed specified favourable outcomes against each of all available characteristics of pancreas donors, islet grafts, recipients and immunosuppressive regimens, as well as immunosuppression and procedure-related serious adverse events (SAEs).

RESULTS

Four factors were associated with the highest rates of favourable outcomes: recipient age ≥35 years; total infused islets ≥325,000 islet equivalents; induction immunosuppression with T cell depletion and/or TNF-α inhibition; and maintenance with both mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and calcineurin inhibitors. At 5 years after the last islet infusion, of the recipients meeting these four common favourable factors (4CFF; N=126), 95% were free of SHEs, 76% had HbA <53 mmol/mol (7.0%), 73% had HbA <53 mmol/mol (7.0%) and absence of SHEs, and 53% were insulin independent, significantly higher rates than in the remaining recipients (<4CFF; N=272). The incidence of procedural and immunosuppression-related SAEs per recipient that resulted in sequelae, disability or death was low in both the 4CFF (0.056 per person) and <4CFF (0.074 per person) groups.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: In recipients with type 1 diabetes complicated by SHEs, islet transplantation meeting 4CFF protected 95% from SHEs at 5 years after the last islet infusion and exerted a large and significant benefit on glycaemic control, with an acceptable safety profile for this subgroup of type 1 diabetes.