Fatal pneumococcal infections following allogeneic bone marrow transplant.
Six cases of fatal pneumococcal sepsis are described, occurring in the post-allograft setting, between 3 and 39 months after transplantation. Five of the six patients were suffering from chronic graft-versus-host disease and were receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Most were receiving prophylactic antibiotic therapy. This represents approximately 2% of the allograft population treated during the study period who survived for > 3 months after transplant. Pneumococcal sepsis is thus still a significant cause of death after allogeneic BMT and approaches to minimise its occurrence are discussed.
Rege
K
K
Leukaemia Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey, UK.
Mehta
J
J
Treleaven
J
J
Jameson
B
B
Meller
S T
ST
Mitchell
P
P
Milan
S
S
Powles
R L
RL
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000628:therapy; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*