title: The role of skin biopsies in bone marrow transplant recipients.
abstract: Bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients frequently develop rashes as a consequence of their disease, its treatment or because of a complication such as infection. These rashes are often clinically atypical, yet appropriate management is dependent upon correct diagnosis and therefore a skin biopsy is often performed. In a group of 101 consecutive BMT recipients, 25 patients had a total of 34 skin biopsies. A specific histopathological diagnosis was made in 65% (22/34), including graft vs. host disease (GVHD) (15 cases), infection (4 cases), drug reaction (1 case) and recurrent lymphoma (1 case). Therapy was changed following the biopsy in 77% (17/22) of these cases. In 35% (12/34) the histological changes were non-specific, however, in 10 of these cases GVHD had been suspected clinically and its exclusion was therefore useful. Skin biopsy is of considerable value in the diagnosis and subsequent management of BMT recipients who develop a rash.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Hepburn
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McLaren
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Beveridge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity / Q000473:pathology; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D012874:Skin Diseases, Infectious / Q000473:pathology