Obstructive jaundice after bone marrow transplantation

Jaundice after bone marrow transplantation is usually a consequence of graft versus host disease. Reported is a patient who presented with obstructive jaundice several months after a successful marrow allograft. Despite a benign bone marrow examination, abdominal ultrasound, upper gastrointestinal series, and endoscopic biopsy were utilized to diagnose recurrent leukemia at the pancreatic head and descending duodenum. The entities of graft versus host disease as related to jaundice, and gastrointestinal leukemia, in the presence of a 'remission' bone marrow, are reviewed.