LETTER
Are Protected Environments Necessary for Recipients of Bone Marrow Transplants?
Sewa S. Legha, MD
1 July 1994 | Volume 121 Issue 1 | Page 76
TO THE EDITOR:
Rowe and associates [1] recently provided guidelines for managing patients who have received autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for cancer. Although they covered most of the common problems, they did not comment on the preventive aspects of the common infectious complications. Protected environments with laminar air-flow facilities or air filtration devices have been used for several years. Can myeloablative therapy be delivered in a regular ward setting without requiring a special isolation unit or provision for protected environment? Could the authors provide the pros and cons of the need for "sterile" environment and of the value of facilities for conducting high-dose chemotherapy, which is increasingly used by medical oncologists in both community hospitals and major cancer centers? The provision of such environments is costly, so it is important to know if such facilities are indispensable.
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Author and Article Information
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The University of Texas; M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; Houston, TX 77030
1. Rowe JM, Ciobanu N, Ascensao J, Stadtmauer EA, Weiner RS, Schenkein DP, et al. Recommended guidelines for the management of autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: a report from the Eastern Cooperation Oncology Group (ECOG). Ann Intern Med. 1994; 120:143-58.
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