Lung Function Stable Three Years After Hematopoietic Cell Transplant in Sickle Cell

THURSDAY, Sept. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Lung function remains stable over three years after hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to a study published online June 26 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

A. Parker Ruhl, M.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues examined pulmonary function testing parameters at three years after HCT. Data were obtained for 97 SCD patients who underwent HCT; 55 were available for follow-up at three years.

The researchers found that the median pre-HCT forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was 68.3 and 69.2 percent at baseline and three years post-HCT; diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DL_CO) was 60.5 and 64.6 percent pre-HCT and at three years post-HCT. At three years post-HCT, generalized estimating equations estimated that DL_CO percent-predicted increased significantly by 3.7 percent and the six-minute walk distance increased significantly by 25.9 m; relative to pre-HCT, no significant change was seen in percent-predicted FEV1 or forced vital capacity.

“Without the ongoing injury, it”s possible that healing of lung tissue might occur, and this finding should help reassure adults living with sickle cell disease who are considering whether to have a low-intensity stem cell transplant procedure that their lung health will not be compromised by the transplant,” Ruhl said in a statement.

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