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Relationship between corticosteroid dose and declines in physical function among allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between corticosteroid dose and degree of physical function decrease in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) patients during the early stage of recovery. We further investigated the confounding factors affecting loss of physical function.

Methods

The study included 113 patients who underwent allo-HSCT between July 2007 and April 2012 at Hyogo College of Medicine Hospital in Japan. Physical function was assessed using tests for hand-grip strength, knee-extensor strength, and the 6-min walk test (6MWT). Fatigue was measured using the Piper Fatigue Scale. Total corticosteroid dose, frequency of physical therapy, body weight, and nutritional status were also collected from medical records.

Results

Total corticosteroid dose was correlated with decrease of hand-grip and knee-extensors strength (P < 0.01) but was not correlated with 6MWT performance. Results of multivariate analysis confirmed that low physical function was associated not only with high corticosteroid dose but also with low frequency of physical therapy, increase in fatigue, and body weight loss (P < 0.05). Also, hemoglobin levels were associated with 6MWT (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

This study showed the relationship between corticosteroid dose and declines in physical function and also showed other clinical factors affecting loss of physical function among allo-HSCT patients. Our results indicate that the effectiveness of rehabilitation may be influenced by corticosteroid treatment.

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Abbreviations

6MWT:

6-min walk test

allo-HSCT:

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

GVHD:

Graft-versus-host disease

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the study participants and physiotherapists at the Rehabilitation Department and physicians at the Division of Hematology of Hyogo College of Medicine Hospital.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation, Hyogo College of Medicine Hospital, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan

    Shinichiro Morishita, Shinya Yamauchi & Koichiro Sota

  2. Division of Haematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan

    Katsuji Kaida, Shinichi Ishii, Kazuhiro Ikegame & Hiroyasu Ogawa

  3. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan

    Norihiko Kodama & Kazuhisa Domen

Authors
  1. Shinichiro Morishita
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  2. Katsuji Kaida
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Correspondence to Shinichiro Morishita.

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Morishita, S., Kaida, K., Yamauchi, S. et al. Relationship between corticosteroid dose and declines in physical function among allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients. Support Care Cancer 21, 2161–2169 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1778-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1778-7

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