Review of multistate models in hematopoietic cell transplantation studies.

Multi-state models are used to describe how a patient’s clinical status evolves over time. They can be a useful tool for describing the complex post transplant recovery process. In this paper we review basic concepts of multistate models and describe how they are used to model transition rates or state probabilities. We also discuss the use of landmark analysis to summarize how a patient’s long-term prognosis changes as they transition to different health states. We illustrate these uses of multistate models on a dataset with outcomes after bone marrow transplantation for patients with Severe Aplastic Anemia.