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INTRODUCTION: Despite achievements in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children, its burden on the psychosocial status of patients is not well defined yet. This study aims to determine the impact of childhood ALL on emotional and behavioral pattern of the patients compared to healthy peers as assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). METHODS: We studied 100 children with ALL (aged 6-12 years) and 100 healthy sex/age peers as control group. All ALL cases were treated by chemotherapy alone. After being informed by a psychologist, parents in both groups were asked to complete the CBCL form. Final results were then compared between the two study groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the groups regarding the general characteristics. Failure in school performance, restricted group activity and less social relations were significantly higher in the ALL cases. Total competence was also significantly disturbed for the ALL cases. Social problems, attention problems, aggressive behavior, externalization, attention deficit/hyperactivity, conduct and oppositional defiant problems were significantly more prevalent in healthy children. Somatic problems were significantly higher in the ALL cases. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that except for somatic problems, behavioral problems among the ALL cases are significantly less frequent than the healthy peers, which may stem from better care and support from the families. Our unique findings emphasize the need for more research on the psychosocial status of children with cancer in future.
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BACKGROUND: A good knowledge of the proper implication of blood products and the ability to prevent potential complications is crucial, especially for medical interns before embarking upon their career. We aimed to investigate the level of knowledge of common blood transfusion complications among medical interns. METHODS: In this study, 90 medical interns at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were asked to fill out a questionnaire consisting of 14 questions on acute complications of transfusion; probable causes of the acute complications and their clinical symptoms; initial treatment of acute reactions; role of parenteral corticosteroids in the treatment; best method of applying epinephrine; follow-up duration; and preventive measures of acute reactions. RESULTS: All the interns enrolled in the study completed the form within the allocated time and sent it back to us. Average total score was 10.94 from 20. There was a significantly acceptable level of awareness of ABO incompatibility, with 96.5% of the total score having been achieved, while general knowledge about treatment methods, observation and risk factors of TRALI was moderate to weak. CONCLUSION: Current educational level for transfusion medicine seems to be inadequate as the medical interns in our study were not sufficiently versed in the complications of blood transfusion and their management.
