Abdominal complications after bone marrow transplantation in children: sonographic and CT findings

Bone marrow transplantation is increasingly used in children to treat refractory malignant neoplasms, immunodeficiency syndromes, and hematopoietic and genetic disorders. In preparation for the transplantation, patients receive high doses of chemotherapeutic agents and total-body irradiation to destroy residual malignant cells or dysfunctional marrow and to prevent rejection of the graft. A variety of abdominal and pelvic complications may occur after transplantation because of pancytopenia, the direct toxic effects of the preparative regimen, graft-vs-host disease, or immunosuppression. This essay illustrates the CT and sonographic appearances of these complications.