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Query: UMLS:C0018133 (graft-versus-host disease)
 18,032 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has evolved over the last decade from a controversial research procedure to a standard therapeutic modality, becoming an important innovative treatment for hematological malignancies, solid tumors, immunodeficiency diseases and metabolic disorders. Historically in research and clinical literature, the BMT procedure is divided into several stages, each accompanied by particular emotional tones and psychological issues. In providing care for transplant recipients, donors, and families, caregivers must be familiar with the psychological stages of the procedure, the psychological themes such as body image, and the patient's mechanisms of coping with the stress of such protocols. BMT's complex regimens of high-dose chemotherapy and total-body irradiation, germ-free environments, graft-versus-host disease, and total parenteral nutrition can precipitate significant psychological sequelae in some patients with acute and long-term consequences. In response to their illness, transplant patients may also develop emotional disturbances of anxiety, depression, agitation, and non-compliance. This paper will address the psychological care of the patient, donor and family from pre-BMT consultation, through informed consent, hospitalization and convalescence. Various psychotherapeutic, pharmacological and behavioral interventions will be briefly described. Finally, areas of research in quality of life after BMT and factors that may predict BMT adjustment and outcome will be explored. We hope this brief paper will familiarize the reader with this psychologically intriguing field and will provide a departure point for future reading, study, research, and patient/family care.
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PMID:Bone marrow transplantation: support of the patient and his/her family. 815 56

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in long-term survivors of allogenic stem cell transplantation. This retrospective study describes the problems occurring in stem cell transplanted patients. Data were collected from medical and nursing records of the 55 patients admitted to the Stem Cell transplant ward of Careggi Hospital, and affected by GVHD from December 1991 to October 2000. Fifty per cent of the patients had skin problems and 24 gastrointestinal problems. The mean duration of the GVHD is 19 days. Many patients exhibit behaviours of intense anxiety, depression and restlessness. The results are comparable with data published in the most recent literature and show the complexity and severity of the GVHD. The patients affected require high levels of care therefore the nurse performs a pivotal role in symptoms monitoring and care.
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PMID:[Acute graft versus host disease: a retrospective analysis of 55 bone marrow transplant patients]. 1267 31

A 60-year-old man presented with impaired consciousness and psychomotor agitation after a second allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a matched unrelated donor for acute myeloid leukaemia. Clinical, biological and radiological evidence suggested a diagnosis of central nervous system graft-versus-host disease (CNS-GvHD). After intrathecal infusion of methylprednisolone, the clinical symptoms as well as the radiological abnormalities disappeared. The present report illustrates the difficulties in the diagnosis and the management of CNS-GvHD, a very rare and still challenging neurological complication that can occur after allogeneic HSCT.
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PMID:Central nervous system graft-versus-host disease (CNS-GvHD) after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. 2933 Feb 69