Factors Affecting Quality of Life in Patients Receiving Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Issue 2 (March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mohanraj, Lathika; Sargent, Lana; Elswick, R. K.; Toor, Amir; Swift-Scanlan, Theresa
• Is Part Of: Cancer nursing. Volume 45:Issue 2(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-03
• Subjects: Cognitive impairment -- Fatigue -- Frailty -- Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation -- Quality of life; Cancer -- Nursing -- Periodicals; 610.736
• DOI: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000990
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0162-220X

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for hematologic malignancies, with 22 000 HSCTs performed annually in the United States. However, decreased quality of life (QoL) is a frequent and concerning state reported by HSCT recipients. Objectives: We sought to determine if measurements of frailty and cognitive impairment were associated with fatigue and QoL in adult HSCT recipients after autologous HSCT. Methods: Using a longitudinal study design, 32 participants 18 years or older receiving autologous HSCT were recruited from a bone marrow transplant clinic. Each participant completed 2 visits: pre-HSCT and post-HSCT. At each visit, participants completed assessment tools to measure frailty, cognitive impairment, fatigue, and QoL (assesses physical, social/family, emotional, functional, and transplant-related well-being). Results: Participants with increased fatigue scores reported decreased QoL pre- and post-HSCT. Participants with increased frailty showed decreased functional well-being before HSCT and showed correlations with decreased physical, social, and transplant-related well-being post-HSCT. As expected, fatigued participants also showed increased frailty post-HSCT. Participants showed significant changes in physical well-being and fatigue between pre-HSCT and post-HSCT visits. Conclusion: Data analyses from this pilot study show significant correlations between subsets of QoL with fatigue and frailty in autologous HSCT participants pre- and post-HSCT. Implications for Practice: Understanding the impact of frailty on fatigue and QoL in HSCT recipients is critical to assist nurses in initiating educational and behavioral interventions to help mitigate the effects of HSCT.