Pre-transplant Rehabilitation to Decrease the Post-transplant Length of Stay for Hematological Malignancy Patients Undergoing Allo-HSCT

OBJECTIVES: Pre-transplant rehabilitation for hematological malignancy patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) helps improve physical capacity. However, its benefit with respect to post-transplant hospital length of stay (LOS) is unclear. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pre-transplant rehabilitation on post-transplant LOS for hematological malignancy patients undergoing allo-HSCT. METHODS: Data on patients diagnosed between April 2014 and March 2017 were collected from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database. The patients were identified using the ICD-10 codes C81–85, C90–94, C96, and D46. Multilevel linear regression analyses were conducted to identify the effects of pre-transplant rehabilitation on post-transplant LOS (log transformed). RESULTS: In total, 3614 patients were included in the study. Pre-transplant rehabilitation was associated with a significant reduction in post-transplant hospital LOS (β=–0.134, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-transplant rehabilitation may be an effective strategy for shortening the post-transplant hospital LOS in hematological malignancy patients undergoing allo-HSCT. Consequently, it may be necessary to consider starting rehabilitation before transplantation.