Gastrointestinal complications following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children.
Gastrointestinal system involvement is one of the principal complications seen in the recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and it is also a major cause of morbidity and death in these patients. The major gastrointestinal complications include typhlitis (neutropenic enterocolitis), pseudomembranous enterocolitis, viral enteritis, graft-versus-host disease, benign pneumatosis intestinalis, intestinal thrombotic microangiopathy, and post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease. As these patients present with nonspecific abdominal symptoms, evaluation with using such imaging modalities as ultrasonography and CT is essential in order to assess the extent of gastrointestinal involvement and to diagnose these complications. We present here a pictorial review of the imaging features and other factors involved in the diagnosis of these gastrointestinal complications in pediatric HSCT recipients.
Department of Radiology, St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Ji-Hye
JH
Lee
Gye-Yeon
GY
Lim
Soo Ah
SA
Im
Nak-Gyun
NG
Chung
Seung-Tae
ST
Hahn
D002648:Child; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans