Mary C. Hooke

Massage Therapy for Children With Cancer

This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of providing massage to children with cancer to reduce symptoms in children and anxiety in parents. Twenty-three children/parent dyads were enrolled; 17 completed all data points. Children with cancer, ages 1 to 18 years, received at least 2 identical cycles of chemotherapy, and one parent, participated in the 2-period crossover design in which 4 weekly massage sessions alternated with 4 weekly quiet-time control sessions. Changes in relaxation (heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol level) and symptoms (pain, nausea, anxiety, and fatigue) were assessed in children; anxiety and fatigue were measured in parents. Massage was more effective than quiet time at reducing heart rate in children, anxiety in children less than age 14 years, and parent anxiety. There were no significant changes in blood pressure, cortisol, pain, nausea, or fatigue. Children reported that massage helped them feel better, lessened their anxiety and worries, and had longer lasting effects than quiet time. Massage in children with cancer is feasible and appears to decrease anxiety in parents and younger children.

Carnitine plasma levels and fatigue in children/adolescents receiving cisplatin, ifosfamide, or doxorubicin

Fatigue is the most frequent symptom experienced by children/adolescents with cancer. One mechanism contributing to cancer-related fatigue involves abnormalities in adenosine triphosphate synthesis caused by carnitine deficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine fatigue and carnitine in children/adolescents before and after ifosfamide, cisplatin, or doxorubicin chemotherapy. Sixty-seven patients from 2 childrens cancer centers participated. Fatigue and carnitine measures were obtained before chemotherapy and a week later. Newly diagnosed children/adolescents had significantly higher free (P=0.018) and total carnitine levels (P=0.017) compared with those who received prior chemotherapy. There was a significant increase in free and total carnitine levels after treatment for patients receiving doxorubicin than patients receiving cisplatin or ifosfamide. Increased fatigue and decreased carnitine were significantly correlated a week after chemotherapy in children/adolescents who had received prior chemotherapy. Increased carnitine in newly diagnosed patients is likely associated with rapid tissue release into the bloodstream, replacing carnitine lost by chemotherapy metabolism. Decreased carnitine and increased fatigue occurred after 1 to 2 courses of chemotherapy. This study provides support for a relationship between carnitine and fatigue in children/adolescents with cancer.

Peaceful play yoga: serenity and balance for children with cancer and their parents.

Children with a cancer diagnosis experience symptom distress, including anxiety, because of the disease and its treatment. Parents experience stress and anxiety because of the uncertainty of the disease as well as the suffering of their children. Yoga is a complementary intervention that has physiological and psychological benefits in healthy children and healthy and chronically ill adults. On an inpatient hematology/oncology unit, 11 children aged 6 to 12 years, 5 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, and 33 parents participated in a single yoga session tailored to the needs and abilities of the patients and parents. Sense of well-being pre- and postclass was measured with the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale. Children had normal anxiety scores preclass that did not change. Adolescents and parents experienced significant decreases in anxiety scores, and all cohorts gave positive feedback about the experience. The authors conclude that yoga is a feasible intervention for this population and is beneficial to adolescents and parents.

Use of a Fitness Tracker to Promote Physical Activity in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Fitness Tracker to Promote Physical Activity

Children with cancer identify fatigue as a pervasive symptom, which increases during the corticosteroid pulse in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) maintenance. The FitBit® is a fitness tracker that downloads activity measurements to the Internet in real time. In this feasibility study, we explored if children who received daily FitBit® coaching for 2 weeks before a maintenance steroid pulse had an increase in steps per day and determined the relationship between steps per day prepulse and fatigue postpulse.

Psychometric and Clinical Assessment of the 13-Item Reduced Version of the Fatigue Scale–Adolescent Instrument:

Fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms experienced by adolescents during and after treatment for cancer. The lack of reliable and valid instruments has prevented an accurate assessment of the trajectory of fatigue among adolescent oncology patients. The purposes of this study were to identify the items on the Fatigue Scale–Adolescent (FS-A) that distinguished adolescents with high fatigue and to identify the most sensitive and specific score (“cut score”) in order to identify those in need of a fatigue intervention. Rasch methods were used to identify FS-A items that distinguished adolescents with high cancer-related fatigue, and results indicated that the 14-item FS-A could be reduced to 13 items. The 13-item FS-A was assessed for its psychometric properties, with application of the receiver operating characteristics curve analysis to the responses from 75 adolescents. The internal consistency coefficient was .87, and a 4-factor confirmatory analysis achieved good fit coefficients. The identified cut score was 31, with 66.6% sensitivity and 82.6% specificity; 16 (21.33%) of the patients scored 31 or higher. The 13-item FS-A has acceptable psychometric properties and is able to identify adolescent oncology patients with high fatigue.

Fatigue and Physical Performance in Children and Adolescents Receiving Chemotherapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine the relationship between physical performance and fatigue in child and adolescent cohorts during the first three cycles of chemotherapy. DESIGN Prospective, observational design. SETTING Two pediatric cancer centers in the upper Midwest region of the United States. SAMPLE 16 children and 14 adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer. METHODS Standardized instruments were administered during the first and third cycles of chemotherapy. Instruments included physical performance tests (Timed Up and Down Stairs [TUDS] and the 6-Minute Walk Test [6MWT]) and a self-report fatigue scale. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Fatigue and physical performance. FINDINGS In the child cohort, physical performance appeared to improve and fatigue diminished from cycle 1 to 3 of chemotherapy. When time on TUDS decreased, fatigue tended to decrease; when 6MWT distance increased, fatigue decreased. In the adolescent cohort, fatigue seemed to decrease but physical performance measures evidenced little change. Correlations between changes in the physical performance variables and fatigue were not significant. CONCLUSIONS Fatigue may decrease early in treatment as disease symptoms resolve. Fatigue in the child cohort was related to physical performance, which is consistent with previous studies that defined fatigue in children as primarily a physical sensation. Findings in the adolescent cohort support research that defined adolescent fatigue as more complex with mental, emotional, and physical components. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Knowing how fatigue relates to physical performance in children and adolescents informs the nurse in educating patients and families about symptom management.

Symptom clusters in children.

Purpose of reviewResearchers have focused on identifying and describing symptom experiences among children with various diseases but symptoms can have a synergistic and/or an antecedent effect that must be evaluated. This review reports the current knowledge of symptoms among various pediatric diseases and highlights symptom cluster research. Recent findingsSymptoms of depression and anxiety are the most prevalent variables studied across pediatric disease studies followed by pain, fatigue, and quality of life. Although previous pediatric symptom research provides a foundation for understanding the complexities of these symptoms, there is limited evidence on symptom cluster research in pediatrics. Pain and fatigue are the most common symptoms analyzed for correlations, and relationships among symptoms that have been evaluated in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, HIV, cancer, cardiac disease requiring an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and at end of life. Pain and fatigue have been associated with sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, anorexia, and nausea/vomiting. SummaryPediatric oncology researchers are leading the way with symptom cluster studies; however, this work remains in the early stages. There is great potential to advance the state of the science with cluster analysis. Future research work should focus on evaluating symptoms and their interactions.

Recommendations for the Return of Research Results to Study Participants and Guardians: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group

PURPOSE The Childrens Oncology Group (COG) strongly supports the widely recognized principle that research participants should be offered a summary of study results. The mechanism by which to do so in a cooperative research group setting has not been previously described. METHODS On the basis of a review of the available empirical and theoretic literature and on iterative, multidisciplinary discussion, a COG Return of Results Task Force (RRTF) offered detailed recommendations for the return of results to research study participants. RESULTS The RRTF established guidelines for the notification of research participants and/or their parents/guardians about the availability of research results, a mechanism for and timing of sharing results via registration on the COG public Web site, the scope of the research to be shared, the target audience, and a process for creating and vetting lay summaries of study results. The RRTF recognized the challenges in adequately conveying complex scientific results to audiences with varying levels of health literacy and recommended that particularly sensitive or complex results be returned using direct personal contact. The RRTF also recommended evaluation of the cost, effectiveness, and impact of sharing results. CONCLUSION These recommendations provide a framework for the offering and returning of results to participants. They can be used by individual investigators, multi-investigator research collaboratives, and large cooperative groups.

The first step to integrating the child's voice in adverse event reporting in oncology trials: A content validation study among pediatric oncology clinicians.

Children with cancer experience significant toxicities while undergoing treatment. Documentation of adverse events (AEs) in clinical trials is mandated by federal agencies. Although many AEs are subjective, the current standard is clinician reporting. Our long‐term goal is to create and validate a self‐report measure of subjective AEs for children aged 7 years and older that will inform AE reporting for the National Cancer Institutes Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). This content validation study aimed to identify which of the AEs in the current CTCAE should be included in a pediatric self‐report measure.

Propofol Use in Pediatric Patients With Severe Cancer Pain at the End of Life

This article describes the use and effectiveness of adjuvant propofol for pain control for pediatric oncology patients at the end of life. All patients experienced severe pain and agitation, not well controlled by continuous infusion opioids and benzodiazepines. Upon starting propofol, most patients had a temporary stabilization in the dose of opioids with subjective improvement in pain control, increased alertness, and improved ability to interact. Propofol infusions were continued until death in most patients. Two patients received propofol infusions at home. Subsequent increases in opioids in 6 patients and propofol in all patients were required for optimal pain control. Adverse effects included agitation in 5 patients and hallucinations in 2, which were controllable with benzodiazepines. One patient developed severe tetany, requiring propofol interruption; propofol was successfully restarted at a lower dose with an adjuvant benzodiazepine. The authors conclude that propofol is a useful and tolerable adjuvant agent for pain management in pediatric oncology patients at the end of life. It is a useful adjuvant if pain is unresponsive to continuous infusion opioids or if rapidly escalating doses of opioids are required.