Do hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients have to live alone after being discharged from the hospital? What should be paid attention to in the living environment?

Author: Yan Xia, deputy chief nurse, Peking University People's Hospital

Reviewer: Ren Dajiang, deputy chief physician of the Seventh Medical Center of the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army

After allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients are discharged from the hospital and go home, it is generally recommended that they live alone in the early stage to avoid excessive contact with family members and avoid infection. However, for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients, it is generally not necessary to live alone after being discharged from the hospital and going home.

So, what issues should be paid attention to in the home environment of hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients after they are discharged from the hospital? Let's learn about it together.

First of all, there is no specific requirement for the direction of the room. The sunny side or the shady side can be used. The room must be wiped every day. It should be noted that you should not always wipe it with disinfectant. It is unsafe to wipe it with disinfectant for a long time. It may cause normal bacteria to deform. After being infected by such deformed bacteria, there may be no treatment for such bacteria. Just wipe it with clean water, once in the morning and once in the afternoon every day. After wiping, wring the rag dry and dry it in a ventilated place to avoid moisture and fungus breeding.

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Patients can do these cleaning tasks themselves. As long as they can tolerate it, light physical labor can be done. Appropriate activities can reduce the occurrence of lung complications and increase self-confidence in life. But don't sweep the floor, sweeping the floor will cause dust to be inhaled into the respiratory tract. You can use a mop to mop the floor. After mopping the floor, wash the mop with clean water and put it in a ventilated place to dry. In addition, there will be dust flying when making the bed, so be sure to wear a mask. After making the bed, wipe off the dust that falls on the table with a wet towel.

When is the best time to open windows for ventilation? It is determined by the air quality index. If the air quality is particularly bad today, do not open windows for ventilation. You can open windows every day when the air is excellent or good. In spring, autumn and winter, the sunlight is better from 2 to 4 pm. It is best to open windows for ventilation during this period. In summer, choose to open windows when the air quality is good and it is cool. After opening windows for ventilation, there may be some dust particles floating in the air. After the dust settles naturally, use a rag to wipe off the dust on the table and cabinet surface to reduce the number of dust particles. The fewer the number of dust particles, the fewer viruses and bacteria there will be in the room, because viruses and bacteria are not floating freely in the air, they are attached to the dust. If the haze is heavy, you can equip the room with a household machine to remove haze to reduce the number of dust particles in the room.

Indoor humidity can generally be maintained at 50%-60%. In winter, when the heating is on, it is particularly dry and the indoor humidity may be only 20%. You can use a humidifier. But be sure to clean the humidifier every day because there is a humidification tank under the humidifier, which is very easy to breed bacteria. If it is not cleaned for a long time, green moss will grow, which is a kind of fungus.

If the patient lives alone, he or she does not need to wear a mask when he or she is in the room. However, it depends on the weather conditions. For example, if the smog is particularly heavy today, you should also wear a mask at home. If you live with family members and two people live in the same room, you should wear a mask yourself, and it is best for your family members to wear masks as well. If you live alone, family members are recommended to wear masks for a short period of time when they enter the room, such as delivering things or meals, and the patient does not need to wear one. If family members come in to chat with the patient and have long-term contact, the patient should also wear a mask, mainly to prevent respiratory infections.

After suffering from blood diseases, whether patients are undergoing chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, it is not recommended to keep plants and pets.

Figure 2 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Because there are fungal spores in the soil, normal people usually do not get sick if they inhale these fungal spores, but for immunocompromised patients who have undergone transplantation or chemotherapy, they may get sick after inhaling them. Pets have parasites and fleas, which can also cause patients to get sick.