title: Symptom monitoring and dependent care during cancer treatment in children: pilot study.
abstract: Symptom monitoring by parents/caregivers of children with cancer and what the caregiver and child did to help alleviate symptoms during chemotherapy were studied. The Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist (TRSC) child version was administered to parents/caregivers of 11 children and adolescents (mean age, 10.4 years; SD, 6.1 years; range, 2-18 years; 45% were boys). The Karnofsky scale was completed by clinicians to rate the child's functional status. The TRSC child version and functional status scores were inversely related. All children experienced nausea; the most frequent symptoms reported were in TRSC subscales: fatigue, nausea, eating, fever, oropharynx, pain, and hair loss. Care strategies that helped were distraction, massage, mouth rinses, and vitamins; some reported that their child received medications for pain, nausea, and vomiting. Using complementary medicine categories, the care strategies were diet/nutrition/lifestyle change (eg, more high-fat, high-calorie foods; new foods; any food the child likes; and much sleep and rest); mind/body control (eg, play, video games, television, reading, activity puzzle, breathing exercises, relaxation methods, and prayer); manual healing method (massage and skin-to-skin contact); and biologic treatments (vitamins). The first 2 categories were the most used. Systematic assessment with a self-report checklist enables the provider to identify and prioritize (according to reported severity) those symptoms needing intervention.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas School of Nursing, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA. pwilliam@kumc.edu
authors.forename: Phoebe D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Jami
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmideskamp
authors.forename: E Lavonne
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Ridder
authors.forename: Arthur R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000505:Alopecia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009325:Nausea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*