Feasibility of three times weekly symptom screening in pediatric cancer patients

BMC Cancer

Research

Tal Schechter¹  Susan Kuczynski²  Sadie Cook³  Cassandra Tardif-Theriault³  Maryann Calligan³  Grace Dadzie³  Lauren Chakkalackal³  Emily Vettese³  L. Lee Dupuis⁴  Lillian Sung⁵  Dilip Soman⁶ 

[1] Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, M5G 1X8, Toronto, ON, Canada;Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC), 99 Citation Drive, M2K 1S9, Toronto, ON, Canada;Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, M5G 0A4, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, M5G 0A4, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, M5G 1X8, Toronto, ON, Canada;Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, M5G 0A4, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, M5G 1X8, Toronto, ON, Canada;Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 105 St. George Street, M5S 3E6, Toronto, ON, Canada;

关键词: Symptom screening;    Quality of life;    Pediatric;    Oncology;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-022-10400-1

 received in 2022-03-26, accepted in 2022-12-05,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

ObjectivePrimary objective was to determine the feasibility of three times weekly symptom reporting by pediatric cancer patients for eight weeks.MethodsWe included English-speaking patients 8–18 years of age with cancer. Patients were sent reminders by text or email to complete Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool (SSPedi) three times weekly for eight weeks. When patients reported at least one severely bothersome symptom, the symptom report was emailed to the primary healthcare team. Patient-reported outcomes were obtained at baseline, week 4 ± 1 and week 8 ± 1. Symptom documentation, intervention provision for symptoms and unplanned healthcare encounters were determined by chart review at weeks 4 and 8. The primary endpoint was feasibility, defined as at least 75% patients achieving adherence with at least 60% of SSPedi evaluations. We planned to enroll successive cohorts until this threshold was met.ResultsTwo cohorts consisting of 30 patients (cohort 1 (n = 20) and cohort 2 (n = 10)) were required to meet the feasibility threshold. In cohort 1, 11/20 (55%) met the SSPedi completion threshold. Interventions applied after cohort 1 included engaging parents to facilitate pediatric patient self-report, offering mechanisms to remember username and password and highlighting potential benefits of symptom feedback to clinicians. In cohort 2, 9/10 (90%) met the SSPedi completion threshold and thus feasibility was met. Patient-reported outcomes and chart review outcomes were obtained for all participants in cohort 2.ConclusionsThree times weekly symptom reporting by pediatric patients with cancer for eight weeks was feasible. Mechanisms to enhance three times weekly symptom reporting were identified and implemented. Future studies of longitudinal symptom screening can now be planned.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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