Increased Mortality by Septicemia, Interstitial Pneumonitis and Pulmonary Fibrosis Among Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients Receiving an Increased Mean Dose Rate of Total Irradiation

Seven bone marrow transplant recipients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia receiving a mean dose rate of 0.07 Gy/min of total body irradiation towards the pelvic midpoint and the lungs had an increased (p less than 0.01) overall death rate of 86 per cent compared with 33 per cent among 27 patients with acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia or acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with a mean dose rate of 0.04 Gy/min. Among the patients receiving the higher dose rate there was an increased mortality in causes related to radiation toxicity like early septicemia, interstitial pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis, compared with all patients receiving the lower dose rate (p less than 0.01) and also with 10 patients from this group with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (p less than 0.02).