Pleural effusion in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Background

• Incidence of 16% in first 100 days post-transplant

Etiology

• Infection (39%), often with concurrent bacteremia or fungemia
  • Gram-positive bacteria
  • Gram-negative bacteria
  • Polymicrobial infections
  • Candida albicans
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • CMV
  • Legionella
  • Rare: influenza, Aspergillus, mucormycosis, human metapneumovirus, human herpesvirus 6
• Volume overload (24%)
• Serositis-type GVHD (11%)
• Others: malignant pleural effusion, engraftment syndrome, BOOP, congestive heart failure, idiopathic pneumonia syndrome, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome

Further Reading

• Incidence, etiology, and outcome of pleural effusions in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Am J Hematol. 2016;91(9):E341-E347. doi: 10.1002/ajh.24435