Perfil clínico-funcional de niños que ingresan a un programa de rehabilitación oncológica en una ONG chilena

Abstract

Introduction: Pediatric cancer patients present several dysfunctions in their body functions and structures caused by the tumors or by therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or the sum of all of these treatments. these dysfunctions cause impairment of all areas of functioning. Objective: to describe the clinical and functional profile of children admitted to an oncology rehabilitation program. Materials and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, observational study that reviewed 109 clinical records of patients admitted between 2014 and 2017 to the oncology rehabilitation program of ‘Fundacion Nuestros Hijos’, in compliance with the admission criteria. Data were obtained from the clinical assessment performed by the physiatrist and from functional tests such as ‘timed Up and Go test’, ‘Pediatric Balance Scale’ and ‘6-mi-nute walk test’. Results: Average age was 8.7 ± 3.4 years. the most frequent diagnoses were central nervous system (CNS) tumors (50.4%), leukemia and lymphoma (24.4%). A 53.2% of the patients were under active treatment at the time of admission. Motor deficit was the most frequent symptom (79.8%). In this group, 19 children (17.4%) had hemiparesis and 18 (16.5%) quadraparesis. of the total, 44% reported fatigue, 28.4% swallowing disorders, 34.9% vision disorders, and 56% cognitive impairment. Conclusions: Children admitted to oncology rehabilitation programs present several deficiencies in areas of functioning, both in early and late stages of their treatment. Motor, visual and swallowing impairment are the most common dysfunctions, particularly in patients with CNS tumors.