title: Sicca symptoms and their impact on quality of life among very long-term survivors after hematopoietic SCT.
abstract: The objective of this prospective cross-sectional case-control study was to examine the prevalence of dryness symptoms and its impact on quality of life (QoL) among very long-term survivors after hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) in comparison with their respective sibling donors. Forty-four allogeneic HSCT recipients with a long-term survival (median: 17.5; range: 11-26 years) were included. Their respective, HLA-identical sibling donors served as controls. Clinical examinations included saliva flow rates (SFR) and the Schirmer's test. The presence of sicca symptoms of mouth, eyes and skin were inquired. The social functioning (SF)-36 questionnaire was applied. Recipients had lower (P<0.01) unstimulated and stimulated mean SFR than donors. Schirmer's test results <5 mm was found in 45% of the recipients in comparison with 27% of the donors (P = 0.07). Xerostomia (34 vs 4 subjects), xerophtalmia (23 vs 3) and dry skin (32 vs 12) were reported more often by the recipients than donors (P<0.001). Sicca symptoms and their objective findings correlated with QoL. The mean SF-36 scores of the donors were significantly higher than those of the recipients for physical component summary. In conclusion, sicca symptoms are common amongst long-term survivors of HSCT and affect remarkably the QoL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Daikeler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mauramo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rovó
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Halter
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buser
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tyndall
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Häusermann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gratwohl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tichelli
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Waltimo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D015996:Survival Rate; D017741:Survivors; D013997:Time Factors; D014985:Xerophthalmia / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality