Quality of life and financial toxicity of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients in COVID-19.
Natália Naome Oshiro, Luciana de Alcantara Nogueira, Yasmin Hiorrana Dos Santos and 2 others
PMID 37729248WHAT IT FOUND
HSCT recipients in outpatient follow-up reported low quality of life and mild financial strain.
Higher quality-of-life scores tended to accompany lower financial strain, but this link was borderline and not firmly established.
Key findings
01The participants had a mean COST score of 22.11/44, indicating mild financial toxicity, with scores from 1 to 37.
02Allogeneic recipients had lower scores than autologous recipients on HSCT-specific additional concerns (23,41/40 vs 29,67/40) and the treatment evaluation index (56,33/96 vs 71,33/96).
03Higher general quality-of-life scores were associated with lower financial toxicity, but the correlation was p=0.051.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 35 patients were analysed, and 29 were allogeneic recipients, so results may not apply to other transplant settings or to autologous patients. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that COVID-19 caused lower quality of life or that financial toxicity caused lower quality of life. The authors compared their pandemic-period scores with earlier same-institution studies, but this study did not include a non-pandemic control group. The association between quality of life and financial toxicity was borderline (p=0.051), and the Discussion describes it as significant, which is not supported by the reported result. Eleven patients died before day 100 and three did not attend, so the analysed group may differ from all transplant recipients. Financial toxicity was measured with a questionnaire and classified as mild, but individual scores varied widely from 1 to 37.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the paper as showing that financial toxicity lowered quality of life during COVID-19. The COST and FACT-G correlation was p=0.051, and the study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show cause.