Nutritional therapy during bone marrow transplantation. An overview

Abstract

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a treatment which often results in nutritional complications. Common conditions affecting dietary intake are mucosal membrane injuries, nausea, vomiting and anorexia. Dietary advice is therefore a necessary part of treatment. The diet situation is complicated by the abscence of international dietary guidelines for BMT. The dietary approach varies between hospitals. Most commonly patients receive sterile, low-microbial, modified or normal diet. In Sweden all hospitals use different diets. Based on the current literature the authors propose that a modified diet is preferable in the BMT-patients. Today there are no Nordic dietary recommendations for BMT patients. Dietitians in the Nordic countries have begun a cooperative effort to establish guidelines to standardize and improve the nutrition treatment of BMTpatients