Comparative Study of Quality of Life in Multiple Myeloma Patients after Bone Marrow Transplantation in Outpatient and Inpatient Setting

Bone marrow transplantation is one of the treatment modalities in many hematologic disorders. In recent years, bone marrow transplantation is increasingly being delivered in the outpatient setting. Some studies suggest that outpatient transplantation has many advantages. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life in outpatient and inpatient multiple myeloma patients after bone marrow transplantation. This research was a descriptive, comparative study. The quality of life of 35 multiple myeloma patients who had undergone bone marrow transplantation (20 outpatient and 15 inpatient) was assessed. An EORTC QLQ_C30 questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was completed on three occasions (before transplantation, 45 day after BMT and 90 day after BMT). Descriptive (mean, SD) and inferential statistics (Paired T Test, ANOVA Repeated Measures) were used for data analysis. Comparison of quality of life between inpatient and outpatient settings indicated that quality of life of outpatient group was significantly better than inpatient group in certain aspects including all functional scales, all symptom scales, physical functioning, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, role functioning and appetite loss, and after a period of 90 days after transplantation, there was a significant increase in quality of life of the members of the inpatient group with regards to social functioning (p=0.001), dyspnoea(p=0.05), insomnia(p<0.001) and diarrhea (p=0.07). Although both transplantation methods have their own advantages, but considering the point that outpatient setting results in betterment of quality of life in certain aspects, it is advisable that patients should undergo bone marrow transplantation in an outpatient setting.