Improved Quality of Life of Patients With Sickle Cell Disease after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant: Another Indication for Transplant

• Published in: Hematology/oncology and stem cell therapy Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 37
• Main Authors: Aljaafri, Bader A, Albawardi, Mohammad F, Alghamdi, Abdulaziz Y, Altowairgi, Khaled M, Alhoshan, Yazeed S, Alahmari, Bader, Alsadi, Husam, Ahmed, Mazin, Alnahdi, Mohammed, Aljubour, Zied, Alzahrani, Mohsen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Saudi Arabia 20.07.2023
• ISSN: 2589-0646

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is frequently inherited worldwide. The severity of SCD ranges from mild to severe, and the disease involves multiple complications, including pulmonary hypertension, stroke, recurrent vaso-occlusive crises, end-organ damage, and an increased mortality risk. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative option for patients with SCD. The objective was to assess the quality of life of adolescent and adult patients with SCD receiving HCT pre-and post-transplant. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted. Patients with SCD with at least one year of follow-up after HCT were interviewed to assess their quality of life pre-and post-transplant. This study was conducted at the Transplant Center of King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. The participants were identified through non-probability consecutive sampling. The FACT-G questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life domains. Thirty-one patients were included. The median age of the respondents was 32 ± 6.3 years, and 16 were male (51.6%). The most frequent indication for stem cell transplantation (58%) was a vaso-occlusive crisis. The mean FACT-G scores pre- and post-transplantation were 55.2 ± 18.17 and 91 ± 14.58, respectively. The mean number of annual ER visits was significantly reduced from 27.3 pre-transplant to 6.6 post-transplant (P-value = 0.006). Of the respondents, 51.6% experienced no severe complications post-transplantation, and most (93.5%) reported improved quality of life. HCT significantly improved the quality of life of adult patients with SCD, with improvements in most FACT-G score domains. Although it was not measured by the FACT-G, the frequency of ER visits and hospital admissions were reduced significantly post-transplant, reflecting an improvement in the quality of life and a reduction in the cost of therapy for patients with SCD.