Liam's HLH Journey

3:30 pm – Got a text from Papa, he said Liam is not feeling good today. I think yesterday and the fevers have him wore out. They did an ultrasound of his tummy today. Still don’t have any results back yet. Praying that he will feel better soon and regain his strength. Hard to see him not very active, he is usually so busy.

5:30 pm – UPDATE FROM KRISTY: They are leaning more to GVHD (Graft-versus-Host-Disease) but still can’t rule out HLH will get the results we need tomorrow with the chimerisms. His fevers have not been as high today and Tylenol a tiny less frequent.

What is Graft-versus-Host-Disease ?
SOURCE: http://www.medicalistes.org/gvhd/docs/what_is_gvhd.html

Introduction

Graft-versus-host disease is a frequent complication of allogeneic BMTs. In GVHD, the donor’s bone marrow attacks the patient’s organs and tissues, impairing their ability to function, and increasing the patient’s susceptibility to infection.

Approximately 50 percent of patients undergoing an allogeneic BMT with a related HLA-matched donor develop GVHD. Fortunately, the majority of cases are mild. GVHD is not a complication of autologous BMTs. (In some cases, patients may be their own bone marrow donors. This is called an autologous BMT)

GVHD is often discussed as if it were a single disease. It is, in fact, two diseases: acute GVHD and chronic GVHD. Patients may develop one, both or neither. Acute and chronic GVHD differ in their symptoms, clinical signs and time of onset. (Clinical signs are the results of physical exams, x-rays or lab tests that confirm the existence and extent of a disease.)

GVHD can be a temporary inconvenience or a serious, life-threatening disease. Older BMT potients are more likely to develop GVHD thon younger patients. The incidence and severity of GVHD is also higher among patients whose bone marrow donor is unrelated or not perfectly matched.

The symptoms of GVHD are many and varied, and the list may at first be overwhelming. Keep in mind however that most patients undergoing an allogeneic BMT with a related HLA-matched donor develop only a mild or moderate case of GVHD, or no GVHD at all. Although GVHD can be life- threatening or fatal, most patients survive the disease without long-term disabling side effects.