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Changes in hunger among pediatric patients with cancer and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients
- Source :
- Supportive Care in Cancer. 28:5795-5801
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Change in hunger is a common and bothersome symptom among pediatric patients receiving cancer treatments. Objectives were to describe how children and adolescents receiving cancer treatments experience changes in hunger, factors associated with both increases and decreases in hunger, and coping strategies used by these patients. We enrolled children and adolescents 4–18 years of age with cancer or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients who were actively receiving treatment or who had completed therapy. Using a single, qualitative, semi-structured interview, we asked participants about the experience of increases or decreases in hunger, including characteristics of the change and identified coping strategies. There were 50 children enrolled; 25 (50%) were 4–10 years of age and 33 (66%) were boys. Most often, patients associated an increase in hunger with corticosteroid administration, while other treatments, accompanying symptoms, inactivity, and the hospital environment were associated with a decrease in hunger. Many reported that no coping strategies were successful. For those who did report successful strategies to manage an increase in hunger, these included sleep and having food available. Strategies used to manage a decrease in hunger included anti-emetic medications, increased caloric intake, varied food choices, encouragement to eat, scheduling or tracking of meals, and physical activity. Both increases and decreases in hunger were commonly described. Some coping strategies were reported to be successful. Further research should identify and test interventions to manage changes in hunger in pediatric cancer patients.
- Subjects :
- Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
Transplantation Conditioning
Adolescent
Hunger
Pain medicine
medicine.medical_treatment
Physical activity
Psychological intervention
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Neoplasms
Food choice
Humans
Medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
Child
business.industry
Nursing research
digestive, oral, and skin physiology
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Cancer
medicine.disease
Pediatric cancer
Oncology
Child, Preschool
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Female
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14337339 and 09414355
- Volume :
- 28
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Supportive Care in Cancer
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....4a50b54ecb683466655130aa23997cdd