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. 2019 Feb;19(1):e15-e18.
doi: 10.18295/squmj.2019.19.01.004. Epub 2019 May 30.

Impact of Home-to-Centre Distance on Bone Marrow Transplantation Outcomes

Malak Al Naabi  1 , Murtadha Al Khabori  2 , Mohammed Al-Huneini  2 , Abdulhakeem Al-Rawas  3 , David Dennison  4
Affiliations

Impact of Home-to-Centre Distance on Bone Marrow Transplantation Outcomes

Malak Al Naabi et al. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in Oman started in 1994 at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman. Previous studies have suggested that longer driving time to the transplant centre (DTC) independently correlates with worse overall survival (OS). Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of DTC on OS and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD).

Methods: This retrospective study included all patients who underwent HSCT between February 2006 and December 2016 at SQUH. The DTC was determined using Google Maps (Google LLC., Mountain View, California, USA). The probability of OS was estimated using a Kaplan-Meier estimator and the impact of DTC on OS was compared using a Cox model.

Results: A total of 170 patients were included in this study of which 52% were male and 28% were from the Al Batinah region. The mean age was 14.2 ± 12.2 years. The mean haemoglobin, platelet and white blood cell counts before the HSCT were 10.3 ± 1.7 g/dL, 207 ± 131 × 109/L and 5.1 ± 5.9 × 109/L, respectively. The median DTC for those with aGvHD was 84 minutes, which is similar to patients without aGvHD (P = 0.918). The hazard ratio for DTC as a predictor of OS was 1.0 (P = 0.901).

Conclusion: In this single centre study, DTC did not impact aGvHD or OS in patients post-HSCT. The study was limited by its retrospective design and the small sample size. It is recommended that these results be confirmed in a prospective study.

Keywords: Graft Versus Host Disease; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Oman; Survival Analysis; Travel.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of all patients who received haematopoietic stem cell transplantation at the transplant centre of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman according to the governorate of residence (N = 170).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Driving time estimated using Google Maps (Google LLC., Mountain View, California, USA) of patients who received allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation with and without acute graft-versus-host disease from home to the transplant centre of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman (N = 170).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overall survival of patients who received haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The y-axis represents the Kaplan-Meier estimate of the overall survival probability according to the median driving time from home to the transplant centre at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman (N = 170).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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