Purpose: We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the effect of rehabilitation on minimizing sarcopenia during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) therapy.
Methods: We developed a protocol to test for retention of physical function during HSCT. Muscle strength, muscle circumference, and muscle function before and after HSCT were measured. Consecutive patients with hematological malignancies who underwent HSCT treatment were recruited in this research.
Results: We included 34 patients (16 females, 18 males; median age, 51.5 years). Bodyweight significantly decreased after HSCT (p < 0.001). Nine females and three males had sarcopenia prior to allogeneic HSCT. After HSCT, bilateral hand grip strength and bilateral knee extensor strength decreased significantly. The total caloric intakes for pre-conditioning, during preparation regimen, and after transplant were 1709, 1024, and 1445 kcal, respectively, and were significantly attenuated in the post-transplant period. Serum albumin was significantly decreased in the final period. Conversely, C-reactive protein was slightly but significantly increased across the transplantation process. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that oral caloric intake after the transplantation period and sex were significantly related to muscle weakness (p = 0.033 and 0.036, respectively).
Conclusions: Sarcopenia during HSCT was affected by oral caloric intake during the preparation regimen and after transplantation. Physical therapy in conjunction with nutritional therapy may help prevent weakness in HSCT recipients.
Keywords: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Muscle weakness; Nutrition therapy; Rehabilitation; Sarcopenia.