Valoración de la musicoterapia en pacientes oncológicos pediátricos y sus cuidadores / Assessment of musictherapy in pediatric cancer patients and their caregivers

Introducción: La musicoterapia, como algunos estudios ya lo han demostrado, es efectiva en la reducción de la ansiedad, el miedo y el dolor tanto en pacientes oncológicos pediátricos, como en sus cuidadores; aumentando la relajación, el bienestar del paciente, mejorando su calidad de vida y la relación paciente-cuidador. Objetivos: Valorar la satisfacción de los cuidadores y pacientes con los beneficios obtenidos de la intervención musicoterapéutica recibida en el Departamento de Hemato- Oncología Pediátrica del Hospital de Clínicas de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Materiales y métodos: Estudio cuantitativo, observacional, descriptivo, transversal, tras el diseño y la puesta en marcha del voluntariado de Musicoterapia. Se elaboró un cuestionario de satisfacción a los familiares y pacientes que recibieron sesiones de musicoterapia. Resultados: Fueron encuestadas 22 personas, 10 pacientes (45.5%), 12 familiares (54.5%). El 100% de los encuestados respondió que vio beneficio al terminar la sesión y recomendaría este tipo de intervención a otro paciente o cuidador. Se solicitó a las personas que califiquen del 1 al 5 la sesión de Musicoterapia. 19 personas (86.4%) dieron calificación 5 y 3 personas (13.6%) la calificaron con 4. Conclusión: Tras la realización de este trabajo se pudo observar la importancia de la aplicación de la musicoterapia en pacientes oncológicos pediátricos y en sus cuidadores, por su efectividad para animarlos, distraerlos, relajarlos y de esta manera disminuir la ansiedad, el dolor físico, el malestar y la angustia; mejorando así su calidad de vida, aunque el número de encuestados no es estadísticamente significativo para sacar conclusiones definitivas.

Introduction: Music therapy, as some studies have already shown, is effective in reducing anxiety, fear and pain in both pediatric cancer patients and their caregivers; increasing relaxation, patient well-being, improving their quality of life and the patient-caregiver relationship. Objectives: To measure the satisfaction of caregivers and patients with the benefits obtained from the music therapy intervention received in the Department of Pediatric Hemato-Oncology of the Hospital of Clinics of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Asunción. Materials and methods: Quantitative observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, after the design and implementation of the Music Therapy volunteer. A satisfaction questionnaire was prepared for family members and patients receiving music therapy sessions. Results: 22 people were surveyed, 10 patients (45.5%), 12 relatives (54.5%). 100% of respondents responded that they saw some benefit at the end of the session and would recommend this type of intervention to another patient or caregiver. People were asked to rate the Music therapy session from 1 to 5. 19 people (86.4%) rated 5 and 3 people (13.6%) rated it 4. Conclusion: After the completion of this work, it has been possible to observe the importance of the use of music therapy in pediatric cancer patients and their caregivers, for its effectiveness in encouraging them, distracting them, relaxing them and thus reducing anxiety, physical pain, malaise and anguish, thus improving their quality of life.

Factores de riesgo en infecciones por organismos multidroga resistentes en pacientes pediátricos oncológicos en la Unidad Nacional de Oncología Pediátrica (UNOP) de Guatemala

Introducción: Las infecciones por organismos multidroga resistentes (MDR) en pacientes oncológicos pediátricos se han convertido en una causa frecuente de morbilidad y mortalidad. Objetivos: El objetivo principal de este estudio fue determinar la incidencia y los factores de riesgo para estas infecciones en una muestra de pacientes de la UNOP. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de tipo retrospectivo. Se incluyeron pacientes de la unidad de nosocomiales con infección por organismos MDR con cultivo positivo (hemocultivo, uro cultivo, aspirado oro traqueal cultivo de secreción). Se revisaron los registros comprendidos entre 1 de enero del 2015 al 31 de diciembre del 2015; obteniendo los registros médicos de 30 pacientes que cumplían con los criterios de inclusión. Resultados: Se observó que el 60% de los pacientes con infecciones por organismo MDR son del sexo femenino, el 70% poseen el diagnóstico de un tumor hematológico y el 37% tuvieron como diagnóstico bacteriemia/sepsis, siendo la incidencia de ésta de 3.49%. Palabras Claves: factores de riesgo, Infecciones por organismos multidroga resistentes, pacientes oncológicos pediátricos. A. baumannii, K. pneumonie; cancer pediátrico.

Introduction: Multidrug resistant (MDR) organism infections in pediatric oncology patients have become a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality. The main objective of the following study was to determine the incidence and risk factors associated to MDR organisms infections in a sample of patients from UNOP. Methods: Retrospective study. The inclusion criteria were documented MDR infection with positive culture (blood, urinary, tissue or endotracheal aspirate). We reviewed medical records between January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2015; obtaining the medical records of 30 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Results: Sixty percent (60%) of patients female; 70% had the diagnosis of hematologic malignancy; 37% of patients were diagnosed with clinical sepsis and the incidence of sepsis was 3.49%. Key words: risk factors, infections by multidrug-resistant organisms, pediatric cancer patients. A. baumannii, K. pneumonie; pediatric cancer

Neuroimmunoendocrine trajectories and the response to stress and fatigue in pediatric cancer patients under chemotherapy submitted to clown intervention / Trajetórias neuroimunoendócrinas e resposta ao estresse e à fadiga em pacientes oncológicos pediátricos em tratamento quimioterápico submetidos à intervenção do palhaço

Cancer and the hospitalization process often have a psychological impact on the children and adolescents, usually leading to intense stress as well as fatigue. This especially applies to children and adolescents who have been submitted to chemotherapy, since it still constitutes a stressful and threatening experience for them and may exacerbate cancer symptom burden clusters, leading to a decrease in their health related quality of life (QoL). In addition, stress associated with cancer development leads to disturbances/disruption in the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and suppresses important neuroimmunoendocrine pathways. Hence, interventions aimed at attenuating the physiological changes related to stress favor the recovery of the immune system and, consequently, induce alterations in neuroimmunoendocrine factors that increase immunological surveillance during cancer treatment. With the increase in cancer rates, it is crucial that healthcare professionals develop effective interventions to support pediatric cancer patients during the hospitalization process in order to relieve the burden of cancer treatment, which may contribute to a better prognosis of the disease. In an attempt to alleviate some of the cancer-related symptoms, pediatric oncology patients can take advantage of non-pharmacological interventions, including clown intervention, which can be a very advantageous approach to reduce unpleasant symptoms in pediatric cancer patients. However, few studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms that mediate health outcomes of clown intervention. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the clown intervention on psychological stress and cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in pediatric cancer inpatients undergoing chemotherapy. Also, we aimed to investigate whether changes in the levels of biomarkers, including cortisol, ?-amylase (sAA), cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) are associated with psychological stress and CRF levels in pediatric osteosarcoma inpatients following clown intervention. A pretestposttest quasi-experimental study was undertaken with pediatric cancer inpatients. Eight nonfasting saliva samples were collected at identical times upon clown intervention, i.e., at baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention (+ 1h, + 4h, + 9h, and + 13h post awakening). Salivary cortisol, sAA, cytokines and MMP-9 concentrations were measured using high sensitivity Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay. Sociodemographic and clinical data, and Child Stress Scale-ESI(TM) and PedsQL(TM) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale were applied and the results were compared at baseline and after the clown intervention, and also correlated with biomarker trajectories. Data analysis was performed using nonparametric statistical tests. In comparison with baseline measurements, the overall psychological stress for pediatric cancer inpatients as well as their perception of fatigue improved upon clown intervention (p= 0.003; p= 0.049, respectively). There were no significant correlations between sAA and cortisol for both Areas Under Curve (AUC) at baseline or at post-intervention. Also, clown intervention reduced IL1? and salivary cortisol levels in pediatric osteosarcoma inpatients. Additionally, AUC for IL1? positively correlated with AUC for cortisol as well as with AUC for sAA at postintervention. In contrast, levels of IL-6, TNF-?, IL-12p70, IL-10, TGF-? and MMP-9 did not show significant differences upon clown intervention. Overall, our results suggest that clown intervention is a good non-pharmacological intervention to reduce psychological stress and CRF in pediatric cancer inpatients undergoing chemotherapy

O câncer e o processo de hospitalização comumente cursam com forte impacto psicológico sobre as crianças e adolescentes, gerando estresse e fadiga. Isto aplica-se especialmente, para àqueles sob quimioterapia, pois esta, constitui-se em uma das experiências mais estressantes e ameaçadoras que pode exacerbar os sintomas relacionados ao câncer e levar a uma diminuição da qualidade de vida (QV). O estresse associado ao desenvolvimento do câncer pode causar disrupturas no eixo hipotálamo-hipófise-adrenal, e suprimir importantes vias neuroimunoendócrinas. Assim, intervenções destinadas a atenuar as alterações fisiológicas relacionadas ao estresse podem favorecer a recuperação do sistema imune e induzir alterações neuroimunoendócrinas para potencializar a vigilância imunológica durante o tratamento oncológico. Com o aumento da incidência de câncer, é crucial que os profissionais de saúde desenvolvam intervenções eficazes para o manejo dos sintomas oncológicos, de modo a aliviar a sobrecarga do tratamento nesses pacientes durante o processo de hospitalização, de modo a contribuir para um melhor prognóstico da doença. Ademais, pacientes pediátricos oncológicos podem se beneficiar de intervenções não-farmacológicas, por exemplo, a intervenção dos clowns, para aliviar os sintomas relacionados ao câncer. Contudo, poucos estudos têm investigado os mecanismos moleculares envolvendo a intervenção dos clowns. Nosso objetivo principal foi investigar os efeitos da intervenção dos clowns sobre o estresse psicológico e a fadiga-relacionada ao câncer (FRC) em pacientes pediátricos oncológicos sob quimioterapia. Além disso, nós investigamos se alterações nos níveis de cortisol, ?-amilase (sAA), citocinas e metaloproteinases de matriz (MMP-9) estão associadas com estresse psicológico e com FRC de pacientes pediátricos com osteossarcoma submetidos à intervenção dos clowns. Trata-se de um estudo quase-experimental pré-teste/pós-teste. Foram colhidas oito amostras de saliva em momentos idênticos, isto é, no baseline (pré-intervenção) e no pós-intervenção (+ 1h, + 4h, + 9h e + 13h após o despertar). As concentrações de cortisol salivar, sAA, citocinas e MMP-9 foram mensuradas por ELISA. Dados sociodemográficos e clínicos foram coletados via prontuários médicos, além disso, foram aplicadas a Escala de Estresse Infantil-ESI(TM) e a Escala Multidimensional de Fadiga-PedsQL(TM). Os escores das escalas foram comparados entre o baseline e o pós-intervenção, e também, foram correlacionados com os níveis dos biomarcadores. Para análise dos dados, utilizou-se da estatística descritiva e estatística não paramétrica. Em comparação com as medidas do baseline, observamos que os níveis de estresse psicológico total, bem como os de fadiga geral dos pacientes pediátricos oncológicos, melhoraram significativamente após a intervenção dos clowns ( p= 0.003; p= 0.049, respectivamente). Não houve correlações significativas entre as Áreas sob Curva (AUC) da sAA e do cortisol no baseline e nem no pós-intervenção. Além disso, a intervenção dos clowns reduziu os níveis de IL-1? e de cortisol nos pacientes pediátricos com osteossarcoma. A AUC da IL-1? correlacionou-se positivamente com AUC do cortisol e com a AUC da sAA no pósintervenção. Inversamente, os níveis de IL-6, TNF-?, IL-12p70, IL-10, TGF-? e MMP-9 não mostraram diferenças significativas no pós-intervenção. Em síntese, nossos resultados sugerem que a intervenção dos clowns é uma boa intervenção não-farmacológica para reduzir o estresse psicológico e a FRC em pacientes pediátricos oncológicos sob quimioterapia