Camille A Gutierrez1, Mehul V Raval2, Hannah R Vester3, Sonali Chaudhury4, Daniel von Allmen3, David H Rothstein5. 1. Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY. 2. Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA. 3. Division of General and Thoracic Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH. 4. Division of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago. 5. Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY; Department of Pediatric Surgery, Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. Electronic address: drothstein@kaleidahealth.org.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/ PURPOSE: Intestinal complications of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) include hemorrhage and perforation in the short-term, and stricture with bowel obstruction in the long-term. As medical management of severe aGVHD has improved, more patients are surviving even advanced stages of intestinal aGVHD. This review summarizes the available pediatric literature on surgical treatment of complications of intestinal GVHD. METHODS: A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus databases. Any publication that addressed surgical treatment of acute and chronic intestinal GVHD in the pediatric population was reviewed in detail. Furthermore, we included information on 5 additional patients from the institutions of this review's authors, which had not been previously published. RESULTS: We identified 8 studies, comprising 13 patients. Surgical interventions were undertaken for a variety of intestinal GVHD complications, including small bowel obstruction owing to stricture (n=8), enterocutaneous fistulae (n=2), gastrointestinal hemorrhage/perforation (n=1 each), and esophageal stricture (n=1). Among eight patients with bowel obstruction as an indication, pathology revealed ulceration with fibrosis in all but one; 3 had signs of persistent GVHD. Surgical mortality was reported in 4 patients (31%) at an average of 6weeks postoperatively. The median overall follow-up time was 20months (IQR, 2-21). CONCLUSIONS: Although intestinal aGVHD management is almost exclusively medical, a small subset of patients develops complications of intestinal GVHD that require surgical intervention. With expanding indications for stem cell transplantation as well as improved survival after previously fatal bouts of intestinal aGVHD, it is likely that surgical intervention will become more common in these complicated patients. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: Level of Evidence: Level IV.
BACKGROUND/ PURPOSE: Intestinal complications of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) include hemorrhage and perforation in the short-term, and stricture with bowel obstruction in the long-term. As medical management of severe aGVHD has improved, more patients are surviving even advanced stages of intestinal aGVHD. This review summarizes the available pediatric literature on surgical treatment of complications of intestinal GVHD. METHODS: A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus databases. Any publication that addressed surgical treatment of acute and chronic intestinal GVHD in the pediatric population was reviewed in detail. Furthermore, we included information on 5 additional patients from the institutions of this review's authors, which had not been previously published. RESULTS: We identified 8 studies, comprising 13 patients. Surgical interventions were undertaken for a variety of intestinal GVHD complications, including small bowel obstruction owing to stricture (n=8), enterocutaneous fistulae (n=2), gastrointestinal hemorrhage/perforation (n=1 each), and esophageal stricture (n=1). Among eight patients with bowel obstruction as an indication, pathology revealed ulceration with fibrosis in all but one; 3 had signs of persistent GVHD. Surgical mortality was reported in 4 patients (31%) at an average of 6weeks postoperatively. The median overall follow-up time was 20months (IQR, 2-21). CONCLUSIONS: Although intestinal aGVHD management is almost exclusively medical, a small subset of patients develops complications of intestinal GVHD that require surgical intervention. With expanding indications for stem cell transplantation as well as improved survival after previously fatal bouts of intestinal aGVHD, it is likely that surgical intervention will become more common in these complicated patients. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: Level of Evidence: Level IV.