Psychophysical well-being profiles in patients before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Common mental disorders in hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

to map common recurrent mental disorders in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

METHODS

this is a scoping review carried out in January 2022 in electronic databases and repositories of dissertations and thesis. Studies that answered the research question, met the objective of the study and were available in full electronically, in any language, were included.

RESULTS

the sample consisted of 28 studies, 14 of which were published in the United States of America. The common mental disorders found were depressive, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and mood disorders. Twenty symptoms were mentioned, among the most prevalent are fatigue and sleep disorders/insomnia.

CONCLUSIONS

the difficulty and importance of carrying out the differential diagnosis of these disorders were highlighted, since their symptoms can be confused with other health problems and have a strong potential to interfere with patients' evolution.

Changes in social support among patients with hematological malignancy undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Souzhou, China

Background

Evidence regarding social support in patients is mostly from cross-sectional studies. Very few studies have focused on the change in social support systems before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Methods

A total of 191 patients were investigated before transplantation and at 30, 90 and 180 days post-transplantation. The social support for patients was evaluated by the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS).

Results

The overall PSSS scores showed a continuous decline in means from 71.29 ± 9.73 before the transplantation to 69.44 ± 10.61, 68.73 ± 10.04, and 66.37 ± 12.02 at 30, 90 and 180 days post-transplantation, respectively. In comparison to the baseline, the overall PSSS scores decreased significantly at 90 and 180 days post-transplantation (P < .05). The Generalized Estimated Equation (GEE) analysis found that patients with no transplant-related complications, higher household income, and better educational status had preferable social support.

Conclusion

Social support presented a marked downward trend during the six month period. Patients with no transplant-related complications, higher household income and better educational status had preferable social support. Therefore, social support as a high-priority quality of life should be given close attention in the early phase of transplantation. Positive measures should be taken to improve social support in the early phase of transplantation especially among individuals undergoing this procedure for the first time.