COMPARISON OF ANXIETY, PAIN AND DISCOMFOR T IN 2 PROCEDURES OF HEMATOPOIETIC STEM-CELLS COLLECTION - LEUCACYTAPHERESIS AND BONE-MARROW COLLECTION

The aim of this study was to compare anxiety, pain and discomfort of c ancer patients submitted to two procedures of hematopoietic stem cells collection: peripheral blood stem cells collection (PBSCC) or bone ma rrow collection (BMC). Patients, randomized (July 1993-February 1994), in view of autograft, to receive the first procedure or the second on e, completed self-administered questionnaires before, during and after the procedure. Anxiety,vas evaluated by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory . Pain was assessed using visual analogical scale (VAS) and McGill Pai n questionnaire. Before the procedure, in comparison with PBSCC patien ts (n = 40), BMC patients (n = 25) experienced more State-anxiety due to the procedure approach (p < 0.01) and more trouble or inconvenience for having to come and stay at the hospital (p < 0.0001). During the procedure, pain related to BMC, as assessed by VAS, is significatively higher than pain induced by PBSCC, whichever the access used (p < 0.0 01). The McGill total score is twice as high or BMC patients than for patients submitted to PBSCC with femoral catheter (n = 19). The latter patients significatively reported more pain than patients without fem oral catheter (n = 21). At the discharge from hospital, 32% of BMC pat ients judged the procedure quite difficult vs 5% of PBSCC patients (p < 0.05). These results explain a higher acceptability of the periphera l blood stem cells collection.