title: Clinical problems of infectious complications in patients with multiple myeloma.
abstract: Infectious complications in 126 patients with multiple myeloma were studied throughout the entire course of the disease. Various infectious complications were found in 71 patients (56.3%). They had predominantly pulmonary (42%) and renal (37%) localisation. Most commonly, they were manifested in the acute stages of the myelomatosis: the onset of the disease, during and after the induction therapy, the relapses and in the terminal stage. Using various biologic, clinical, immunologic, biochemical, therapeutic and prognostic criteria all patients presenting with infectious complications were compared with the rest of the patients. Statistically significant risk factors for an infectious process were shown to be old age, the disease in its third clinical stage, light chain myelomas, secretion of lamda light chains, leucopenia, azotaemia, polyclonal suppression of immunoglobulins and inadequate therapeutic response. The infection complications do not have significant impact on the survival of myeloma patients.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Haematology, University of Medicine, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goranov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors