The eye in bone marrow transplantation. I. Clinical study.

A prospective study of 45 patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation included full ocular examination and pretransplant and posttransplant conjunctival biopsies. The major finding was the development of a severe keratoconjunctivitis sicca syndrome that developed in 20 of the 45 patients and closely correlated with the occurrence of acute graft-v-host disease (GVHD). An acute pseudomembranous conjunctivitis in the fulminant stage of acute GVHD developed in six patients. A further ten patients made up a retrospective assessment of bone marrow transplantation and confirmed these clinical findings.