Pulmonary complications in bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has been used with increasing success in patients with malignant and non malignant haematological diseases and some other cancer types. In spite of major advances in recent years, BMT is associated with numerous complications, including infections and other types of disorders, causing that the treatment fails. The complications are found in many organs, but the majority (40-60% cases) are pulmonary complications, both in the early and late stages of the treatment. The major early-stage complications include pulmonary oedema, diffuse vesicular haemorrhage, toxic pulmonary damage. The graft-versus-host disease is a source of major concern in the late stage of the treatment.