Quality of life analysis of children with pediatric acute leukemia post hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the quality of life of patients with pediatric acute leukemia post hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and to analyze the influential factors for patients' quality of life. Methods Sixty of acute leukemia patients from 2 to 18 years old received HSCT and attained more than 4 months survival were recruited from 2 hematology centers in Beijing.PedsQL™ Cancer Module 3.0 Chinese mandarin version was completed by both parents and 8-18 years old patients.Clinical data were extracted from medical records.The quality of life of patients was evaluated and analyzed. Results Forty-nine parents and 32 patients consented to participate and completed the questionnaires, with 34 boys (69.4%) and 15 girls (30.6%). The age of them was (9.94±4.24)years old. The sample included 28 acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients (57.1%), 19 acute myeloid leukemia patients (38.8%) and 2 acute mixed leukemia patients (4.1%); 16 second complete remission patients (32.7%) and 33 first remission patients (67.3%). The mean scores of overall quality of life after HSCT were 68-75 (out of 100), which was above the average.The disease status before transplantation (OR=0.197, P=0.021) and the education level of patient's mother (OR=3.932, P=0.043) were the influential factors for children's quality of life post HSCT: second complete remission status and the lower education level of mother resulted in worse quality of life.Neither gender, diagnosis, donor sources, slight graft versus host disease, parents' job, education level of father, nor home area influenced the quality of life significantly. Conclusions The overall quality of life of HSCT patients is above the average.The influential factors for patients' quality of life include the disease status before transplantation and the educational level of patients' mother. Key words: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Quality of life; Influence factor; Acute leukemia; Child