Quality of life and mood of patients and family caregivers during hospitalization for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

BackgroundWe conducted a study to investigate the impact of hospitalization for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) on the quality of life (QOL) and mood of patients and family caregivers (FC).MethodsWe conducted a longitudinal study of patients who were hospitalized for HCT and their FC. We assessed QOL (using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplantation) and mood (using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) at baseline (6 days before HCT), day +1, and day +8 of HCT. We administered the Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey Short Form-36 to examine FC QOL (Physical Component Scale and Mental Component Scale). To identify predictors of changes in QOL, we used multivariable linear mixed models.ResultsWe enrolled 97% of eligible patients undergoing autologous (30 patients), myeloablative (30 patients), or reduced intensity (30 patients) allogeneic HCT. Patients' QOL markedly declined (mean Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplantation score, 109.6 to 96.0; P7) more than doubled from baseline to day +8 (15.6% to 37.8%; PConclusionsPatients undergoing HCT reported a steep deterioration in QOL and substantially worsening depression during hospitalization. Baseline anxiety and depression predicted worse QOL during hospitalization, underscoring the importance of assessing pre-HCT psychiatric morbidity.