Early infectious complications in autologous bone marrow transplantation: a review of 219 patients

The objective of this study was to define the incidence, type and timing of early infectious complications, occurring within the first 30 days, in autologous bone marrow transplant (autoBMT) recipients over a 45-month period, and in addition to assess the effects of growth factors and primed peripheral blood progenitor cells on the rate of infectious complications. The paper describes a retrospective and observational study, carried out at the bone marrow transplantation unit at a tertiary referral center. The subjects were two hundred and nineteen patients who underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation for a variety of indications from April 1989 to December 1992. The median duration of neutropenia after autologous bone marrow transplantation was 12 days. There was a direct correlation between the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of infectious complications. The overall incidence of infections and isolated febrile episodes was 35%. Septicemia occurred in 7.8% of patients, pneumonia in 2.7%, skin infection in 1.8%, other infections in 2.7% and isolated febrile episodes in 20.1%. Viridans streptococci were the most common cause of septicemia. Invasive fungal infections occurred in only 2.3% of patients. There were no documented viral infections. The use of growth factors and primed peripheral blood progenitor cells was associated with a shorter duration of neutropenia; a decrease in the overall incidence of infections, particularly septicemia and fungal infections; a shorter length of stay in the hospital and a lower mortality rate in the first 30 days after transplantation. We found a lower incidence of bacterial and fungal infections compared to previous studies. The critical factor associated with the occurrence of any early infection was the duration of neutropenia, which was significantly shortened by the use of growth factors and peripheral blood progenitor cells. Septicemia was uncommon in our population and viridans streptococci were the most common bloodstream isolates.