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Pathogenesis of acute graft-versus-host disease after open heart surgery
1Department of Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11219.
Acute Graft-versus-Host disease (GVHD) generally occurs after allogenic bone marrow transplantation and in immunocompromised patients who have received blood products containing viable lymphocytes. A recently recognized association is that of acute GVHD in the transfused post-open heart surgery patient. The factors that converge after open heart surgery that allow the engraftment and proliferation of donor lymphocytes are discussed and a hypothesis is developed to link the acute GVHD and open heart surgery.
Acute Graft-versus-Host disease (GVHD) generally occurs after allogenic bone marrow transplantation and in immunocompromised patients who have received blood products containing viable lymphocytes. A recently recognized association is that of acute GVHD in the transfused post-open heart surgery patient. The factors that converge after open heart surgery that allow the engraftment and proliferation of donor lymphocytes are discussed and a hypothesis is developed to link the acute GVHD and open heart surgery.