Pediatric blood & cancer
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Mar 2013
PROMIS pediatric measures in pediatric oncology: valid and clinically feasible indicators of patient-reported outcomes.
Establishing the ability of children and adolescents with cancer to complete the NIH-sponsored PROMIS pediatric measures electronically and the preliminary validity estimates of the measures (both full item banks and short forms) in pediatric oncology will contribute to our knowledge of the impact of cancer treatment on these young patients. ⋯ Children and adolescents in treatment for cancer or in survivorship and ranging from 8 to 17 years of age can complete multiple PROMIS pediatric measures using a computer interface during an outpatient clinic visit or inpatient admission. Findings establish known-group validity for PROMIS pediatric measures in pediatric oncology.
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Feb 2013
Aspergillus galactomannan antigen assay and invasive aspergillosis in pediatric cancer patients and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.
Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children. We investigated the usefulness of an Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) antigen assay as a diagnostic tool for IA in pediatric cancer patients and hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients. ⋯ Having a positive GM assay at least twice is useful in diagnosing IA in pediatric patients with cancer and HCT recipients.
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Jan 2013
The use of palliative chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients: a national survey of pediatric oncologists.
Many children continue receiving chemotherapy after there is no realistic hope for cure. One factor that influences parental decisions to pursue medical therapies is physician preference. To date, no studies have described pediatric oncologists' perspectives and practices regarding palliative chemotherapy (PC). ⋯ According to 80.2% of pediatric oncologists completing the survey, some patients receive chemotherapy beyond medical benefit and 40.8% of these oncologists have prescribed PC for the purpose of parental wishes to a recent patient. The chief aims in prescribing palliative chemotherapy were not achieved for recent patients.
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The rare inherited coagulation disorders (RICD) are uncommon and thus not well-defined in terms of severity or management. Inheritance is autosomal; in some of these disorders in the heterozygote state affected individuals may be mildly symptomatic. ⋯ Factor VII and factor XI deficiencies show a poor relationship between the factor level and bleeding risk. Unlike hemophilia, women are equally affected by these RICD and can have problems related to menstruation and childbirth.