How effective are spiritual care and body manipulation therapies in pediatric oncology? A systematic review of the literature

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children affected by oncologic, neurologic and liver diseases: a narrative review

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) consist of a broad group of restorative resources often linked to existing local cultures and established health care systems and are also increasingly used in children with some serious illnesses. In this narrative review, we examine the epidemiology of the use, efficacy, and safety of complementary and alternative medicine in pediatric oncology, neurology, and hepatology. We searched for relevant articles published in Pubmed evaluating CAM use and its efficacy in safety in children affected by oncologic, neurologic and liver diseases. CAM is used to improve the success of conventional therapies, but also to alleviate the pain, discomfort, and suffering resulting from the diseases and their treatment, which are often associated with a significant burden of adverse effects. CAM use must be evaluated in children with neurological, oncological and liver diseases.

The Impact of Parental Pain-attending and Non-pain-attending Responses on Child Pain Behavior in the Context of Cancer-related Painful Procedures: The Moderating Role of Parental Self-oriented Distress

OBJECTIVES

Literature has demonstrated inconsistent findings regarding the impact of parental responses on child pain-related outcomes. Yet, research into factors that may underlie inconsistent findings regarding the variable impact of parental responses is lacking. The current study investigated the moderating role of parental distress in understanding the impact of parental pain-attending (eg, reassuring the child) and non-pain-attending (eg, distracting the child with humor) responses on child pain behavior (eg, crying).

METHODS

Children (18 y and younger) with leukemia, undergoing a lumbar puncture (LP) and/or bone marrow aspiration procedure, and one of their parents, were recruited from the Pediatric Ghent University Hospital. Parent-child interactions were videotaped after the procedure allowing coding of parental responses and child pain behavior. Parents self-reported on experienced personal distress.

RESULTS

Participants consisted of 42 children (24 boys, 18 girls) with leukemia and one of their parents. Children were 0.6 to 15 (7.08±4.39) years old. Findings indicated a positive association between parental pain-attending and child pain behavior, but only when parents reported high levels of distress (β=0.56, P=0.001). No association was observed for parents reporting low levels of distress (β=-0.09, ns). Parental non-pain-attending responses contributed to lower child pain behavior (β=-0.24, P=0.045), independently of parental distress (β=-0.07, ns).

DISCUSSION

The current findings point to the moderating role of parental distress in understanding the impact of parental responses on child pain behavior and highlight the importance of interventions targeting parental emotion regulation to promote optimal child pain outcomes.

Questionnaires assessing the use of complementary health approaches in pediatrics and their measurement properties: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To identify questionnaires assessing the use of complementary health approaches (CHA) in pediatrics, describe their content, and appraise the methodological quality of the studies and the measurement properties of the questionnaires.

METHOD

Major electronic databases were searched from 2011 to 2020. Studies which aimed to assess the use of CHA and studies which reported developing and validating CHA questionnaires in pediatrics were included. Two reviewers independently screened the studies, extracted the data, and rated the methodological quality of the studies and measurement properties of the questionnaires using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. When consensus was not reached, a third reviewer was consulted.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight studies were included. From these studies, 35 CHA questionnaires with a variety of different items were identified. Only two studies aimed to evaluate the measurement properties of two questionnaires. One questionnaire, available as a self- and proxy-report, was initially validated in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and the other, available as an interviewer-administered questionnaire, was validated in children with cancer. According to the COSMIN, the methodological quality of both studies was inadequate or doubtful, and both questionnaires was not thoroughly validated.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review showed a lack of a thoroughly validated CHA questionnaire in pediatrics. However, two questionnaires were found to hold promise. To address this gap, one of the existing questionnaires should be adapted and further validated.

Overview of Treatment Guidelines and Clinical Practical Guidelines That Recommend the Use of Acupuncture: A Bibliometric Analysis

INTRODUCTION

As positive evidence emerges for the use of an intervention to treat a health problem, the intervention gradually becomes incorporated into treatment guidelines (TGs) or clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) that are related to that health problem. To assess whether this general hypothesis can apply to acupuncture, 96 health problems were identified for which positive conclusions in systematic reviews and meta-analyses regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture have been made and then searched for TGs or CPGs that have recommended the use of acupuncture.

METHODS

Through August 31, 2017, searches were performed in relevant medical databases and Google using "treatment guideline," "clinical practice guideline," and the names of the 96 medical conditions as search terms. A "snow-balling" search approach was adopted. All positive recommendations were added into the registry.

RESULTS

A total of 1311 publications were found that recommended using acupuncture published between 1991 and 2017. The number per year reached 50 in 2005 and 100 in 2009. In addition, 2189 positive recommendations were found for the use of acupuncture. Of these, 1486 were related to 107 pain indications and 703 were related to 97 nonpain indications. These recommendations were made by a wide range of groups, such as government health institutions, national guideline, and medical specialty groups. The recommendations came from around the world but were especially abundant in North America, Europe, and Australasia.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Considerably more recommendations were found for the use of acupuncture than are known within the acupuncture or medical communities. A trend by year was also found; a rise in the number of positive statements about acupuncture was typically followed by a rise in the number of recommendations of acupuncture. Thus, the recommendations followed the emergent evidence for acupuncture. Better implementation plans need to be developed for the CPG/TG recommendations about acupuncture to be more effective/efficient.

New Trends and Recent Care Approaches in Pediatric Oncology Nursing

Increased incidence of children diagnosed with cancer and survivors was an impact on changes in pediatric hemato-oncology nursing care. In this review article, it is aimed to investigate the new trends and recent care approaches in pediatric oncology nursing. The recent care topics were common in the literature as family-centered care, technology-based care, program development, primary care of child, health-care provider, survivors and home care, and nonpharmacological care. All of the topics contribute to perform evidence-based care for health promotion and well-being in pediatric hemato-oncology nursing. Research reviews showed that many current topics for the care of children and their parents have entered in the literature. There is a need for more randomized controlled studies to improve the level of evidence of new nursing approaches.

[Manual medicine and osteopathic methods on the growing spine]

The application of various techniques in manual medicine on infants, toddlers and adolescents enjoys widespread acknowledgement not only in the musculoskeletal field but also beyond that. For a long time, the seminars of the DGMM have been trying to structure the advanced training of doctors and the vocational training of physiotherapists and to adjust it according to the latest clinical and scientific findings (in this subject matter). Considering the controversial debates, this seems particularly necessary and meaningful. This article aims to identify the current state of discussion and the consensus between medical associations but it also means to provide assistance in daily routine.

Integrative Therapy Use for Management of Side Effects and Toxicities Experienced by Pediatric Oncology Patients

Integrative Therapies (IT), otherwise known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine, are widely used among pediatric oncology patients, despite a paucity of available evidence. This review summarizes surveys that describe the prevalence of IT use by pediatric oncology patients, both during therapy and in survivorship, as well as the modalities being used. Additionally, the evidence that exists for specific treatments that appear to be efficacious in controlling specific symptoms is described. Finally, there are recommendations for practitioners on how to best counsel patients about IT use.

Religious wellbeing as a predictor for quality of life in Iranian hemodialysis patients

Aim:

Spiritual well-being is known as a main resource for adjustment and coping when confronted with stressful situations such as managing a chronic disease. The aim of this study is to determine the very relationship between spiritual well-being and quality of life in hemodialysis patients.

Methods:

A convenience sample of 95 patients with end-stage renal disease who were referred to main hemodialysis centers were included from December 2012 to June 2013. Data was collected by using a socio-demographic questionnaire, the SF-36 quality of life scale, and the spiritual wellbeing scale. Descriptive analysis, Pearson’s correlation and logistic regression analysis were performed for statistical assessment.

Results:

The mean age of the patients evaluated was 50.4 (SD=15.72) years of age, and 61.1% of the patients were male. Both religious and existential domains of spiritual wellbeing were associated with bodily pain, vitality, social functioning and mental health (P<0.05). The results of multiple logistic regression showed that religious well-being was associated with better quality of life in both domains of physical (OR=1.17; p=0.01) and mental (OR=1.14; p=0.02) components after controlling for socio-demographic and clinical variables.

Conclusion:

Religious well-being should be considered important predictive factors for the better quality of life in hemodialysis patients. This indicates the need for psychosocial and spiritual supports in the care of these patients.