Clinical and radiological characteristics of patients with late-onset severe restrictive lung defect after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

BACKGROUND: Late-onset noninfectious pulmonary complications (LONIPCs), which occur more than 3 months after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), are major causes of morbidity and mortality after transplantation. Among LONIPCs, we occasionally treat patients with late-onset severe restrictive lung defect after HSCT; however, its clinical features have not been fully elucidated. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of a single center on cases of late-onset severe restrictive lung defect after HSCT was performed. Among 453 patients who survived longer than 100 days after allogeneic HSCT with evaluable spirometry data, 12 patients (2.6%) developed late-onset severe restrictive lung defect (i.e., vital capacity percent of predicted less than 60%). RESULTS: Median duration from transplantation to diagnosis of late-onset severe restrictive lung defect cases was 44.5 months. Major computed tomography (CT) finding was pleuroparenchymal thickening with volume loss, an evidence of fibrosis, predominantly in upper lobes (n = 7), which was consistent with pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. The remaining patients showed unclassifiable interstitial pneumonia pattern (n = 2) and airway-predominant pattern (n = 3). The diffusing capacity for carbon oxide tended to decrease, while the residual volume/total lung capacity ratio tended to increase after HSCT. Of 12 patients, 8 patients died and the median month from diagnosis to death was 33.5 months. Seven patients died of pulmonary or systemic infection, and one patient died due to relapse of the primary disease. CONCLUSION: Severe restrictive lung defect could develop in selected cases in the late-phase after HSCT and could be a unique clinical entity with specific radiographical findings. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12890-017-0466-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.