Abd Assalam Qannus

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• Mete, M., Ayvaci, M. U., Gungor, A. B., Araj, F., Acharya, D., Hippen, B., Cheng, X. S., Molnar, M. Z., Alhamad, T., Akalin, E., Singh, N., Anand, P. M., Gupta, G., Peltz, M., Ariyamuthu, V. K., Qannus, A. A., Mansour, I. S., Emami, M., Pal, V., & Tanriover, B. (2025). Predicting Simultaneous Heart Kidney Allocation and Posttransplant Adverse Kidney Outcomes. Kidney International Reports. doi:10.1016/j.ekir.2025.10.005
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  Introduction: For individuals with both end-stage heart failure and end-stage kidney disease or persistent acute kidney injury (AKI), simultaneous heart-kidney transplantation (SHKT) emerges as a viable treatment option, potentially yielding superior survival rates compared with heart transplantation (HT) alone. Nevertheless, accurately forecasting kidney recovery following HT in patients with moderate kidney failure poses challenges, thereby complicating the decision-making process for SHKT. Methods: This study employed a random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm, using 15 variables with the highest feature importance scores in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) data in which we analyzed a retrospective cohort of adult HT recipients from October 18, 2018 to December 31, 2020 in the US, with a follow-up for at least 1 year. The algorithm's goal was to predict a composite binary outcome with a calculated probability. An adverse outcome included the need for SHKT or adverse kidney outcomes within the first-year posttransplant (defined as end-stage kidney disease requiring chronic dialysis, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≤ 20 ml/min per 1.73 m2 or listing for retransplant). The model underwent both internal and external validation. Results: Of the 6579 patients in the study cohort, 13.4% received SHKT or experienced adverse kidney outcomes within a year following HT (n = 880). The RF model demonstrated a high specificity (0.941–0.955) and negative predictive value (0.940–0.955). However, it exhibited a moderate level of sensitivity (0.605–0.694) and positive predictive value (0.604–0.680). The concordance (c)-statistics ranged between 0.849 and 0.899, indicating effective class differentiation. Conclusion: This tool supplements, not replace, clinical judgment in addressing the complexities of SHKT decision-making at the time of waitlisting.
• Qannus, A. A., & Tanriover, B. (2025). Beyond the Waitlist: Addressing Structural Racism and Age-Specific Barriers to Equity in Kidney Transplantation. Kidney International Reports, 10(Issue 8). doi:10.1016/j.ekir.2025.05.043
• Qannus, A. A., Özpolat, H. T., Salazar, D., Bracamonte, E., Tanriover, B., & Ariyamathu, V. (2025). Recurrent sarcoidosis in a transplanted kidney: A case report and literature review. Transplant Immunology, 93. doi:10.1016/j.trim.2025.102300
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  Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disorder that primarily affects the lungs. However, extra-pulmonary involvement, including the kidneys and heart, is also observed. Kidney involvement may manifest as hypercalcemia or as acute or chronic kidney injury, which could progress to end-stage kidney disease. Patients with sarcoidosis have been reported to successfully undergo kidney transplants, although some have experienced recurrence of sarcoidosis after the transplant, affecting both the kidneys and other organs. Here, we present a case of a patient who underwent a kidney transplant followed by the recurrence of sarcoidosis, which manifested as hypercalcemia five months after the transplant.
• Al-Obaidi, M. M., Gungor, A. B., Nematollahi, S., Zangeneh, T. T., Bedrick, E. J., Johnson, K. M., Low-Adegbija, N. E., Alam, R., Rangan, P., William Heise, C., Ariyamuthu, V. K., Shetty, A., Qannus, A. A., Murugapandian, S., Ayvaci, M. M., Anand, P. M., & Tanriover, B. (2022). Effectiveness of Casirivimab-Imdevimab Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Among High-Risk Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 B.1.617.2 (Delta Variant) Infection. Open forum infectious diseases, 9(7), ofac186.
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  Real-world data on the effectiveness of neutralizing casirivimab-imdevimab monoclonal antibody (Cas-Imd mAb) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among high-risk patients may inform the response to future SARS-CoV-2 variants.
• Tanriover, B., Anand, P. M., Ayvaci, M., Murugapandian, S., Qannus, A. A., Shetty, A., ARIYAMUTHU, V. K., Heise, C. W., Rangan, P., Alam, R., Nicole, A., Johnson, K., Bedrick, E. J., Zangeneh, T. T., Nematollahi, S., Gungor, A. b., & Al-Obaidi, M. (2022).

  Effectiveness of Casirivimab-Imdevimab Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Among High-Risk Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 B.1.617.2 (Delta Variant) Infection

  . Open forum infectious diseases.
• Tanriover, B., Tanriover, B., Anand, P. M., Anand, P. M., Ayvaci, M., Ayvaci, M., Murugapandian, S., Murugapandian, S., Qannus, A. A., Qannus, A. A., Shetty, A., Shetty, A., ARIYAMUTHU, V. K., ARIYAMUTHU, V. K., Heise, C. W., Heise, C. W., Rangan, P., Rangan, P., Alam, R., , Alam, R., et al. (2022). Effectiveness of Casirivimab-Imdevimab Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Among High-Risk Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 B.1.617.2 (Delta Variant) Infection. Open forum infectious diseases.
• Jurgensen, A., Qannus, A. A., & Gupta, A. (2020). Cognitive Function in Kidney Transplantation. Current transplantation reports, 7, 145-153.
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  Cognitive impairment is common in kidney transplant recipients and affects quality of life, graft survival, morbidity, and mortality. In this review article we discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, pathophysiology and future directions for cognitive impairment in kidney transplantation. We describe the potential role of pre-transplant cognition, immunosuppression and peri-transplant factors in post -transplant cognitive impairment.
• Qannus, A. A., Jurgensen, A., & Gupta, A. (2020). Cognitive Function in Kidney Transplantation.. Current transplantation reports, 7(3), 145-153. doi:10.1007/s40472-020-00284-0
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  Cognitive impairment is common in kidney transplant recipients and affects quality of life, graft survival, morbidity, and mortality. In this review article we discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, pathophysiology and future directions for cognitive impairment in kidney transplantation. We describe the potential role of pre-transplant cognition, immunosuppression and peri-transplant factors in post -transplant cognitive impairment..A majority of patients with kidney transplant have cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment affects both pre-transplant evaluation and post-transplant outcomes. Failure to identify patients with cognitive impairment can withhold appropriate care and timely intervention..Cognitive impairment is common in kidney transplant and affects outcomes. Studies addressing modifiable risk factors and possible interventions to slow cognitive decline in patients with kidney disease are needed.
• Kfoury, H., Mubarak, M., Qannus, A. A., Alshareef, M., Alharbi, J., Alghurair, H., Bin Omair, A., Alshamlan, N., Raddaoui, L., & Alkhalidi, H. (2018). The histological spectrum of tubulo-reticular inclusion positive renal biopsies: a tertiary hospital experience and review of the literature. Ultrastructural pathology, 42(4), 365-368.
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  To identify the underlying diseases with TRI-positive kidney biopsies, and describe the histological pattern and spectrum of TRI-positive kidney biopsies.
• Koubar, S. H., Qannus, A. A., Medawar, W., & Abu-Alfa, A. K. (2018). Hungry bone syndrome two weeks after starting cinacalcet: a call for caution. CEN case reports, 7(1), 21-23.
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  Cinacalcet is an effective and safe alternative to parathyroidectomy in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. Hypocalcemia is a known complication of treatment that is usually readily reversible upon discontinuation of the drug. It rarely manifests severely and symptomatically requiring hospital admission. We present the case of a 55 year old man with severe, symptomatic and prolonged hypocalcemia that occurred 2 weeks after starting cinacalcet. Cinacalcet induced a state of pharmacological parathyroidectomy with subsequent hungry bone syndrome. Serum calcium returned to normal range after 4 weeks of stopping the drug while receiving high doses of elemental calcium and vitamin D receptor activation therapy (VDRA).
• El Cheikh, J., Otrock, Z. K., Qannus, A. A., Kharfan-Dabaja, M. A., & Bazarbachi, A. (2016). Risk-Adapted Approach to HLA-Matched Sibling Hematopoietic Cell Allografting: Impact of Adjusting Conditioning Intensity and Integrating Post-Transplant Therapeutic Interventions. Clinical lymphoma, myeloma & leukemia, 16(5), 304-10.
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  Optimizing conditioning and post-transplant intervention may reduce non-relapse mortality and relapse, improving survival after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT).