[The quality of life after stem cell transplantation: problems with fatigue, sexuality, finances and employment].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the quality of life in patients after high dose chemo/radiotherapy followed by bone marrow stem cell transplantation for the treatment of a malignancy.


METHODS
Structured questionnaire and in-depth interview.


METHODS
Academic Hospital Maastricht, the Netherlands.


METHODS
All patients who had undergone stem cell transplantation (SCT) at least 6 months previously (n = 54) were asked to participate in an analysis of their quality of life using the 'Quality of life questionnaire' (QLQ-C30) developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and an in-depth interview.


RESULTS
The EORTC QLQ-C30 was answered by 52 (96%) of the patients and 46 (85%) participated in the interview. The patients were divided in cohorts of 6-24 (n = 16), 25-48 (n = 22) and more than 48 months (n = 14) after SCT. Quality of life was 73.9 on a 100 per cent scale. There were no significant differences between various cohorts after SCT. However, patients transplanted more than 4 years before had significantly more complaints of nausea and vomiting. The structured interview revealed significant problems with fatigue, sexuality, finances and return to work. No clear relation with time elapsed after transplantation was found.


CONCLUSIONS
SCT has a significant impact on several quality of life issues, which should be considered in the application of this modality in palliative situations. The EORTC QLQ-C30 may be helpful to analyse overall quality of life after transplantation, but provides no information on individual effects on quality of life.
Hendriks
M G
MG
Academisch Ziekenhuis, afd. Interne Geneeskunde, Maastricht.
van Beijsterveldt
B C
BC
Schouten
H C
HC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D009426:Netherlands; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology
Kwaliteit van leven na stamceltransplantatie: problemen met vermoeidheid, seksualiteit, financiën en werkhervatting.