For PCPs Treating Young Transplant Patients
from Practice Update, Winter 2004
It is often difficult to know when a child or young adult may be experiencing a rejection or just the flu or other routine childhood illnesses. The symptoms may be similar, particularly with fever and malaise. If there is any question, the coordinators at The Children’s Hospital should be contacted.
Symptoms of rejection episodes include:
- Low-grade fever
- Complaints of feeling tired
- Irritability/fussiness
- Poor appetite
- Vomiting
- Difficulty breathing
- Puffiness in the face, hands and feet
The transplant team should be notified if the child is exposed to any contagious disease, such as chicken pox or mononucleosis, especially in the first few months after transplant when immunosuppressant medications are at their highest.
