Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) offers potential long-term remission for various autoimmune diseases, especially in patients unresponsive to conventional treatments. Notwithstanding its benefits, aHSCT carries risks from cytotoxic agents and temporary immunosuppression, leading to infectious complications. This systematic review focuses on the incidence and characteristics of infections in patients with autoimmune diseases undergoing aHSCT.

Data will be collected from trials identified in a search across Medline, Embase, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, clinicaltrials.gov, and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Eligible publications are any articles that include patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation where the primary indication is an autoimmune disease. Outcomes include infection characteristics, treatment-related and all-cause mortality, and the robustness and quality of infection reporting. Data screening, collection, and extraction will be conducted using Covidence. A narrative synthesis will describe the results, and meta-analysis will be performed if possible.

This systematic review aims to define the risk of infections during and after stem cell transplantation for patients with autoimmune diseases with the goal of improving prophylaxis, early detection and treatment of infectious complications.