Infectious complications after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: current status and future perspectives in Korea

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a treatment for hematologic malignancies, immune deficiencies, or genetic diseases, ect. Recently, the number of HSCTs performed in Korea has increased and the outcomes have improved. However, infectious complications account for most of the morbidity and mortality after HSCT. Post-HSCT infectious complications are usually classified according to the time after HSCT: pre-engraftment, immediate post-engraftment, and late post-engraftment period. In addition, the types and risk factors of infectious complications differ according to the stem cell source, donor type, conditioning intensity, region, prophylaxis strategy, and comorbidities, such as graft-versushost disease and invasive fungal infection. In this review, we summarize infectious complications after HSCT, focusing on the Korean perspectives.

Keywords: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Immunocompromised host; Infectious diseases; Opportunistic infections.

Figure 1.

Cumulative incidence of herpes zoster in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with myeloablative (MAC) or reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens without long-term prophylaxis (log-rank test, p = 0.492).

Figure 2.

Cumulative incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients with and without chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) (p = 0.003).