Abstract
Twenty-eight of 95 patients who had undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation in our hospital between August 2000 and December 2006 developed lower intestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The endoscopic findings and clinical features of the 20 patients, who did not have viral enteritis were analyzed. There were 13 males and 7 females. Their median age was 49.9 years ; all patients were diagnosed as having hematological malignancy. Intestinal GVHD was diagnosed based on the presence of specific pathological findings including the presence of apoptotic bodies. All patients developed watery diarrhea. On endoscopicy ; redness and/or edema were seen in 18 patients, irregular mucosa in 6, erosion in 15, ulcer in 4, and atrophy or disappearance of microvilli in 14. Compared intestinal stage 1 or 2 patients with stage 3 or 4 GVHD patients had lower gastrointestinal lesions that were more extensive and more severe.
The clinical manifestations of intestinal GVHD were correlated with endoscopic findings and the extent of intestinal lesions.
