Mental disturbances during isolation in bone marrow transplant patients with leukemia

The mental status of 39 leukemia patients, who received bone marrow transpl ants (BMT), was studied during the period of isolation. Mental disorders (d iagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria) occurred in 16 patients (41%) during the observation period, The most frequent diagnoses were adjustment disord ers, with anxiety and/or depression. Logistic regression analysis suggested higher Tension-Anxiety score in the Profile of Mood States (POMS) prior to isolation (P = 0.011), donation of the bone marrow from unrelated subjects (P = 0.026) and in female patients (P = 0.033). The results are preliminar y, but indicate a high frequency of mental disturbances and highlight the i mportance of psychiatric intervention in BMT patients.