ABSTRACT
Tens of thousands of patients undergo blood and marrow transplantation (BMT)
annually, primarily for hematologic malignancies. Since both their innate and
acquired immune systems are impaired, infectious and noninfectious compli-
cations occur frequently in BMT recipients. The recovery of the immune system
following BMT depends on the underlying disorder, stem cell source, and
complications such as graft versus host disease (GVHD). Pulmonary compli-
cations develop in 25% to 60% of BMT recipients and are the immediate cause
of death in approximately 61% (1). The main pulmonary complications are listed
in Table 1.
