ABSTRACT
Bone marrow transplantation. Bone marrow transplant recipients are severely immunocompromised in consequence of supralethal doses of chemotherapy and/or radio therapy prior to transplantation. The patients have multiple immunological deficiencies which persist for 6-12 months, and during this time they are at high risk of developing a variety of infections (26). T-and B-cell abnormalities may be seen for years, even in patients with normal numbers of lymphocytes and despite normal levels of immunoglobulins. A subset of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is especially at risk for acquiring recurrent infections. IVIG treatment has been beneficial in reducing GvHD and transplant-related mortality in adult recipients of related bone marrow transplants as well as in reducing interstitial pneumonia, fatal CMV disease, and septicemia (16-19,27).
