An Assessment Of Quality Of Life After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation For Patients With Hematological Disease

Objective To investigate and assess the quality-of-life(QOL)of patients with haematological disease who had undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT).Methods The QOL of Forty-two recipientswere assessed by two different QOL self-rating instruments,namely the FACT-BMT(version 4.0),the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplantation scale, and the EORTC QLQ-C30,developed by the quality-of-life study group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.The patients who underwent HSCT in the phase from 2001 to 2006,at a median follow-up of 23 months(rang 6～61 months),and were in complete remission after HSCT were assessed.The factors of QOL were analyzed with multivariate linear regression.Results In the QLQ-C30,The global QOL of all HSCT survivors was intermediate.They seemed to have recovered well in the physical and cognitive function compared with normal population(P＞0.05),and reported deficits in the other functions(P＜0.01),especially with the lowest score in social function. Fatigues were significantly found(P=0.000)and financial difficulties were significantly common(P=0.000)in the recipients.Multivariate linear regression analyses indicated that initial diagnosis,blood-group compatibility, HLA-matched,marital status,family income and expenses after HSCT were associated significantly with QOL(P＜0.05).Age,occupation,conditioning regimen and donor type were not statistically significant.The score of the FACT-General total and the FACT-BMT total(37 items) was good.The score of the physical well-being was the highest but that of the function well-being was pretty low.58.6%of the subjects worried about infertility,and the male recipients reported high levels of sexual satisfaction. Most of the survivors were bothered by financial difficulties.Multivariate linear regression analyses indicated that gender,marital status,family income,initial diagnosis,and expenses account were associated significantly with QOL(P＜0.05).Education,conditioning regimen,time post-transplant and employment status were not statistically significant.No statistically significant differences were found between the group of six months after HSCT and the twelve months' one.Conclusion HSCT survivors were satisfacted with their QOL status. Physical well-beings were recovered well.Fatigues were the common syndromes.The economic burdens were the main effects of the QOL.Sexual and fertility function in the female must be concerned.Some interventions needed to be developed to solve these problems.