Using the MDASI-Adolescent for Early Symptom Identification and Mitigation of Symptom Impact on Daily Living in Adolescent and Young Adult Stem Cell Transplant Patients

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) requires an intensive pre- and post-procedure course that leads to symptoms including fatigue, nausea/vomiting, and pain, all of which interfere significantly with activities of daily living. These symptoms place a substantial burden on patients during the time period surrounding transplant as well as during long-term recovery. The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) is a symptom-reporting survey that has been successfully used in adult patients with cancer and may have utility in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) population. At the Children’s Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson Cancer Center, we adopted a modified version of the MDASI, the MDASI-adolescent (MDASI-Adol), as a standard of care for clinical practice in assessing the symptom burden of patients in the peri-transplant period. We then conducted a retrospective chart review to describe the clinical utility of implementing this symptom-screening tool in AYA patients admitted to our pediatric stem cell transplant service. Here, we report our findings on the symptom burden experienced by pediatric and AYA patients undergoing stem cell transplantation as reported on the MDASI-Adol. Our study confirmed that the MDASI-Adol was able to identify a high symptom burden related to HSCT in the AYA population and that it can be used to guide symptom-specific interventions prior to transplant and during recovery. Implementing a standard symptom-screening survey proved informative to our clinical practice and could mitigate treatment complications and alleviate symptom burden.