Dynamic assessment of quality of life after autologous bone marrow transplantation.
To determine the quality of life in adult patients after autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT), we administered a questionnaire to a cohort of patients seen at a single referral-based center. The sample included adults 18 years and older during the 1 year following an autologous BMT. Both disease-free patients and those who relapsed with 1-year of follow-up data available were included. Of 59 eligible patients, 58 (98%) responded to the questionnaire. Patients completed a telephone questionnaire administered by a nurse specialist in the field of BMT approximately every 90 days. At the time of initial contact on day +90, the mean quality of life was 7.8 (range, 1 to 10) on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. By the end of the first year of follow-up, the mean quality of life was 8.9 (range, 3 to 10). Seventy-eight percent of the patients were employed. Twenty-one percent lost weight during the first year, with the majority reporting voluntary weight loss. Fourteen percent reported difficulties with sexual activity. Only 5% reported difficulty with sleeping or with frequent colds. One patient felt that her appearance was worse, and none of the patients reported a poor appetite. Eighty-eight percent of surviving adult patients reported an above-average to excellent quality of life 1 year following autologous BMT. This outcome is encouraging and suggests that this procedure is not associated with long-term morbidity in the surviving adult patient.
Chao
N J
NJ
Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, CA 94305.
Tierney
D K
DK
Bloom
J R
JR
Long
G D
GD
Barr
T A
TA
Stallbaum
B A
BA
Wong
R M
RM
Negrin
R S
RS
Horning
S J
SJ
Blume
K G
KG
D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000601:surgery; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000601:surgery; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous