Effects of Back Massage on Immune Response, Symptom Distress and Mood State of Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Purpose: To examine the effect of back massage on immune response, symptom distress, and mood state of patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allogeneic HSCT). Methods: Subjects were thirty-seven patients undergoing sibling allogeneic HSCT (including 16 in the experimental group and 21 in the control group). Experimental subjects participated in an intervention group of back massage for 10 minutes, once a day and 5 times a week, from one week prior to the HSCT to the third week after the HSCT or a control group. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest design was used. t-test and Repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine group differences by using SAS. Results: No significant group differences were found in Immune response (CD4+, CD8+,CD19+, CD56+) and symptom distress. The experimental group had significantly less mood state (anxiety, confusion) than the control group. Conclusion: The back massage for the patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT may be effective in altering the anxiety and confusion during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, this study did not provide evidence in improving immune response and symptom distress.

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