title: The EBMT-ELN working group recommendations on the prophylaxis and treatment of GvHD: a change-control analysis.
abstract: In 2013, recommendations for a standardized practice in the prophylaxis and treatment of GvHD were adopted and published by the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the European LeukemiaNet. One year later, all 341 European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation centres performing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation were contacted for a change-control analysis and asked to fill in a questionnaire; 111 centres (33%) responded. Of these, 83% had been aware of the recommendations. Paediatric centres (P=0.004), centres with shorter programme duration (P=0.049), not JACIE (the Joint Accreditation Committee of the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation)-accredited centres (P=0.010) and centres from middle-income countries (P=0.033) were more likely to be unaware of the recommendations. Thirty-eight per cent of the centres regarded the recommendations as relevant guidelines affecting their policies, 61% as interesting information. Thirty per cent had decided to make changes in their institutional protocols based on the recommendations. More than 80% were willing to use the recommendations for a control arm in randomized studies. This survey shows that the published recommendations had some, though insufficient, impact on the strategies and methods of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation applied by the centres. It also identified some of the weaknesses to be addressed when releasing recommendations in the future.
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruutu
authors.affiliation: Hematology, Medical Faculty, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gratwohl
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology/Oncology and Hemostasiology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niederwieser
authors.affiliation: Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Witte
authors.affiliation: EBMT Data Office Leiden, Department of Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van der Werf
authors.affiliation: EBMT Data Office Leiden, Department of Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Biezen
authors.affiliation: Hopital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France.|University Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, France.|INSERM UMRs 938, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohty
authors.affiliation: Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kröger
authors.affiliation: Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3739-7502
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rambaldi
authors.affiliation: EBMT Executive Office & JACIE Office, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1956-037X
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.affiliation: Haematology Department, Institut Català d'Oncologia - Hospital Duran i Reynals, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sureda
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Oncology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basak
authors.affiliation: Division of Haematology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Greinix
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Duarte
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D064591:Allografts; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic