ABSTRACT
Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has become an increasingly used treatment option for children and adolescents with high risk oncologic and haematologic diseases [1, 2, 3]. Medical regimens both before and as part of BMT, including treatments such as anthracycline administration and chest irradiation, may result in significant toxicity to the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems[4, 5]. Not surprisingly, BMT has been acutely associated with significantly decreased exercise capacity[6, 7, 8]. To date, there have been no longitudinal studies of exercise capacity following BMT. It is unclear whether exercise responses remain abnormal for prolonged periods following BMT and what organ systems, if any, suffer long-term impairment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate serially cardiac, pulmonary and musculoskeletal function during exercise in a group of children and adolescents following BMT and assess changes in exercise performance in these organ systems.
