Fungal liver infection in marrow transplant recipients: prevalence at autopsy, predisposing factors, and clinical features.

To determine the prevalence of fungal liver infection at autopsy in marrow transplant recipients, we reviewed autopsy results for the period 1980-1989. Cases were compared to randomly chosen autopsied controls without fungal infection. Fungal liver infection was found in 67 (9%) of 731 patients. Fungal cultures of liver lesions were positive for 34 of 67 patients, most of whom had been culture-positive for the same fungal species (largely Candida) during life. Multivariate analysis revealed that independent predictors of fungal liver infection were deep fungal infection after transplantation (RR, 35), colonization or superficial infection after transplantation (RR, 13), and severe liver dysfunction caused by veno-occlusive disease of the liver and/or graft-versus-host disease (RR, 7). Clinical and laboratory findings during the last month of life revealed no differences between cases and controls. Liver imaging studies performed during the last 15 days of life had a sensitivity of only 18% for detecting fungal liver lesions.

Etiology and outcome of diarrhea after marrow transplantation: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute diarrhea after marrow transplant is usually ascribed to acute graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) or infection, with a reported 40%-50% incidence of infection. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of acute diarrhea after transplantation, its causes, and its outcome. METHODS: Two hundred ninety-six patients were followed up; patients with diarrhea were studied using standard evaluation of stool plus immunoelectron microscopy; assays for astrovirus, picobirnavirus, and Norwalk virus; and gene-probe methods for toxin-producing Escherichia coli. In 38 patients with diarrhea, intestinal biopsy specimens and duodenal fluid were also analyzed. RESULTS: One hundred fifty acute diarrheal episodes developed in 126 patients (an incidence of 43%). Intestinal infection was found in 20 of 150 episodes: viruses (astrovirus, adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, and rotavirus) in 12 patients, nosocomially acquired bacteria (Clostridium difficile and Aeromonas) in 7 patients, and mixed infection in 1 patient. Acute GVHD was responsible for 72 of 150 episodes (48%). Clinical signs and symptoms of infection and GVHD were similar. In 58 of 150 episodes (39%), no clear etiology could be found for self-limited diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Intestinal infection accounted for 13% and acute GVHD for 48% of diarrheal episodes. The most common infecting organisms were astrovirus, C. difficile, and adenovirus. Most cases of diarrhea after marrow transplant are not caused by infection.

Comparison of morbidity and mortality after marrow transplantation from HLA-genotypically identical siblings and HLA-phenotypically identical unrelated donors.

The nature and incidence of life-threatening or fatal toxicity after marrow transplantation were analyzed in 52 patients who received HLA-A, B, DR, Dw-phenotypically identical marrow transplants from unrelated volunteer donors (URD). An age and disease-matched cohort of 104 patients transplanted from HLA-genotypically identical siblings was used as a comparative group. The actuarial probability of grade 3 or 4 regimen-related toxicity was 31% after URD transplants and 21% after matched sibling transplants (log-rank p = 0.1041). The median duration of first hospitalization was 33 days for recipients of genotypically-identical marrow and 36 days for recipients of URD marrow (p = 0.0244). Sixty percent of genotypically identical marrow recipients and 51% of unrelated volunteer donor marrow recipients were discharged home from Seattle free of disease at a median of 99 days post-transplant (p = 0.5095). The percentage of patients requiring readmission to hospital and the actuarial probability of requiring either hemodialysis or mechanical ventilation were not statistically different between the two groups. We conclude that matched URD marrow transplantation is not associated with significantly greater regimen-related toxicity or mortality than transplantation from HLA-genotypical siblings.