[Studies on so-called "postoperative erythroderma": report of four cases]

"Postoperative erythroderma", the pathogenesis of this disease have solved as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) due to blood transfusion, is fatal and impossible to cure for the time being. Therefore the prevention against the disease is very important. One woman and three men who underwent an operation and blood transfusion at our department died of this disease. They fell into high fever on 11-13 days, erythroderma on 12-16 days, liver dysfunction on 14 days, and leukocytopenia on 17-19 days, after surgery and transfusion. Eventually, they all suffered from thrombocytopenia, diarrhea, renal dysfunction, and sepsis which led to death. The clinical course, macroscopic and microscopic findings of them coincided with those of GVHD. Since 1989, we have tried following methods for prevention of postoperative erythroderma: Reducing blood transfusion, especially fresh blood and fresh thrombocyte plasma, by using predeposited autologous blood, autologous washed erythrocytes collected from the operative area before and after extracorporeal circulation (ECC), concentrated residual blood from the ECC using a hemoconcentrater, and 1,500 rad of cobalt-irradiation of fresh blood, fresh thrombocyte plasma, and blood collected within 7 days prior to the transfusion. Postoperative erythroderma has not been experienced by introduction of these methods since 1989.