Infection in bone marrow transplant recipients

Abstract

The number of patients submitted to bone marrow transplantation has increased substantially. Infectious complications represent a major obstacle for the success of these transplants. These patients have complex defects in their host defenses which predispose them to bacterial, fungal, viral or parasitic infections. These infections are more frequent and severe in patients submitted to allogeneic transplantation from unrelated donors and less proeminent in recipients of peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Fungi, multiresistant bacteria and some viruses cause the most serious infections, with high mortality. In this paper we reviewed the epidemiology, clinical manifestations and the current recommendations for the management of major infections in bone marrow transplant recipients.