Pediatric stem cell transplantation and critical care (an outcome evaluation).

This paper reviews eight published studies of children who required critical care following a stem cell transplant. Approximately 14% of children required mechanical ventilation following stem cell transplant. Sixteen percent of these children survived. Eleven percent of children who had primary lung injury secondary to either infectious or non-infectious causes survived. Patients with respiratory failure induced by disease in organ systems other than the lungs had much better survival (33-39%). Children reported to have a non-bacterial infectious lung disease had very poor survival. Children who developed multi-organ system failure (MOSF) in addition to lung disease also had poor survival. The majority of children died of MOSF or pulmonary failure.