GRAFT -VERSUS-HOST DISEASE AFTER OPEN HEART SURGERY

GRAFf-VERSUS-HOSTDISEASE (GVHD) was originally described in 1965 as a disorder occurring in immunodeficient children after blood transfusion. I In acute GVHD, immunologically competent donor T cells react against antigens, usually in an immunocompromised recipient. This occurs mainly after bone marrow transplant but has been described in patients receiving non-irradiated blood products, including immunocompetent patients after open heart surgery. 2 Diagnostic features of acute GVHD include fever, exfoliative dermatitis, hepatitis with hyperbilirubinemia, and bone marrow aplasia with pancytopenia. The diagnosis is often delayed or even missed,3 and the mortality rate is high.