Nursing experience in the process of diagnosing and treating post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder

Abstract

Objective To explore the key points of nursing in the process of diagnosing and treating the common complication--- post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) after pediatric liver transplantation. Methods The clinical data of 21 children with PTLD after liver transplantation. The key point of nursing in the process of prevention, onset, diagnosis and treatment was summarized. Results With the individual and combined treatments 18 patients gained remission except for 1 patient died because of perforation and sequent intractable haemorrhage and 2 patient died for the development of lymphoma. In terms of nursing, during the prevention stage, it is critical to insist the regular follow-up to make early diagnosis. More efforts should be made to obtain the children′s cooperation to complete the examination. During the infusion of rituximab, strengthened monitoring is necessary and more attention should be paid to the special nursing when other complications such as intractable haemorrhage, intestinal obstruction or perforation occurs. Conclusions The nursing care of PTLD is complicated. Individual and careful nursing regimens should be made based on the specific situations in different stages. Key words: Nursing care; Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder; Pediatric liver transplantation; Rituximab; Epstein-Barr virus