Infection risk after pediatric stem cell transplantation highest in first month.The results of a retrospective study of stem cell transplantation Stem Cell Transplantation Definition Stem cells are basic human cells that reproduce (replicate) easily, providing a continuous source of new, sometimes different types of cells. in children showed an increased risk of infections within 30 days of transplantation, regardless of the type of transplant. Transplants from unrelated donors, however, caused a significantly higher infection risk after 30 days. In a study of 520 stem cell transplants in 485 children, researchers from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC found 584 infections in 276 children. According to the investigators, the type of transplant did not predict the type or incidence of infections that occurred within 30 days posttransplant. But infections that occurred after 30 days, primarily aspergillosis Aspergillosis Definition Aspergillosis refers to several forms of disease caused by a fungus in the genus Aspergillus. Aspergillosis fungal infections can occur in the ear canal, eyes, nose, sinus cavities, and lungs. , candidiasis candidiasis (kăn'dĭdī`əsĭs), infection of the mucous membranes caused by the fungus Candida albicans. Other terms for candidiasis are yeast infection, moniliasis (after a former name of the fungal genus), and thrush, the , and adenovirus, were far more common in children who received unrelated cord blood and matched unrelated donor transplants than in children who received autologous or matched or partially-matched sibling transplants. (Pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. Infectious Disease Journal 2002;21:227-234.) |
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