NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS IN ADULT ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT PATIENTS: RESULTS FROM A RETROSPECTIVE MULTICENTRE STUDY

Patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) are exposed to a number of neurological complications that may be related to drugs, infections, metabolic alterations, cerebrovascular events and immune-­mediated disorders including myositis, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-­Barrè-­like demyelinating polyneuropathy and central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of graft versus host disease (GVHD). The multifactorial etiology of neurological complications in HSCT patients makes diagnosis difficult. However a timely and rigorous characterization of such complications should be obtained in the attempt to avoid fatal outcomes or long-­term effects. Data regarding neurological complications in HSCT patients derives from small series and varies largely in respect to incidence and severity. Aim of this study is to describe incidence, characteristics and outcome of neurological complications in a large series of consecutive HSCT patients.