Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , Home Care Services, Hospital-Based , Pediatrics , Neoplasms , Quality of Life , Hematologic Diseases , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
No standardized approach towards nutritional screening and assessment of pediatric oncology patients has been established. The nutrition screening tool for childhood cancer (SCAN) has been previously published as an effective screening method. This is an observational cross-sectional study to assess the validity and reliability of the SCAN tool, compare it to the detection of undernutrition using standard measures of assessment, and determine the overall prevalence of malnutrition and micronutrients alterations in our cohort. We included children newly diagnosed with cancer in a pediatric tertiary hospital in Madrid, Spain from August 2018 to May 2019. The following measurements were performed: SCAN questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, nutritional markers in blood, and micronutrient levels. A total of 49 patients were included. 22 patients (45%) were at risk of malnutrition according to the SCAN questionnaire. Four patients (8%) could be diagnosed with moderate undernutrition. These undernourished patients were distributed homogeneously among at-risk and not at-risk populations identified by the SCAN tool. Several micronutrient deficiencies were identified. We conclude that the SCAN questionnaire is an easy-to-use tool for everyday clinical practice. By not including anthropometric measurements it misses patients considered to be malnourished. Future data might help clarify if it is an effective tool in predicting a higher nutritional risk during the entire treatment course.
Subject(s)
Malnutrition , Neoplasms , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Early Detection of Cancer , Humans , Malnutrition/diagnosis , Malnutrition/epidemiology , Malnutrition/etiology , Micronutrients , Neoplasms/complications , Nutrition Assessment , Nutritional Status , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
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Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Neoplasm Metastasis/drug therapy , Neoplasm Metastasis/radiotherapy , Lung , Radiation , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We investigated the clinical characteristics of a pediatric population with hemato-oncological disease and intracranial hypertension, analyze the therapeutic response and outcome, and compare its characteristics with respect to a control group with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients with hemato-oncological disease and secondary intracranial hypertension in our center during the past five years. We compared these individuals with a historical cohort with idiopathic intracranial hypertension from our institution (control group). RESULTS: We identified eight patients, all with leukemia, and 21 controls. Mean age at diagnosis was 10.6 years, and 62% of individuals were female. Most of them were under treatment with drugs (62% corticosteroids, 75% active chemotherapy). Mean opening pressure of cerebrospinal fluid was 35 cm H2O. All had headache, but only 28% complained of visual symptoms. Only 12.5% exhibited papilledema at the time of diagnosis (versus 71% in controls). All of them were treated with acetazolamide, with average therapy duration of nine months, and all had a favorable outcome (versus 57% of controls who needed second-line treatment). None of them showed long-term visual complications (versus 20% of controls). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with hemato-oncological disease and secondary intracranial hypertension may not develop typical symptomatology. Thus, diagnosis and recognition of this entity among this cohort may be difficult. Associated factors are diverse and do not show an obvious causal relationship. A high index of suspicion must be maintained for diagnosis, because a favorable outcome is expected with prompt treatment. Acetazolamide is effective as a first-line therapy and caused few side effects.
