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Effect of Nigella sativa seed administration on prevention of febrile neutropenia during chemotherapy among children with brain tumors

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Abstract

Purpose

Seeds of Nigella sativa (NS) are used to combat various disease conditions through their antibacterial effects. To evaluate the seeds’ potential, we studied their effect on the prevention of febrile neutropenia (FN) in children with brain tumors.

Methods

A randomized pretest-post-test control group study including 80 children (2–18 years) with brain tumors undergoing chemotherapy were equally allocated into two groups. Intervention group received 5 g of NS seeds daily throughout treatment while controls received nothing. CBC with differentials, incidence of FN, and LOS were noted on each follow-up.

Results

The majority of children 38/40 (95%), of the intervention group, took the seeds for 3–9 consecutive months. Eight out of 372 (2.2%) FN episodes were experienced by children of intervention group compared to controls 63/327 (19.3%) (p = 0.001) and a shorter LOS (median = 2.5 days) vs 5 days in the control group (p = 0.006). Children in both groups belonged to almost same geographical area with similar socio-economic background. Weights of children were almost equal at diagnosis.

Conclusion

NS seeds showed a decrease in incidence of FN in children with brain tumors with shortening of subsequent LOS which may improve their outcome and thereby quality of life. Larger scale studies are needed to further evaluate the seeds’ potential.

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Abbreviations

ALL:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

ATRT:

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors

BMI:

Body mass index

CNS:

Central nervous tumors

CTCAE:

Common toxicity criteria for adverse events

RDI:

Relative dose intensity

FN:

Febrile neutropenia

FEP:

Fisher’s exact probability

GCSF:

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

GM-CSF:

Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Hb:

Hemoglobin

LOS:

Length of hospital stay

VCR:

Vincristine

VP16:

Etoposide

MCP:

Monte-Carlo exact probability

MDR:

Multidrug-resistant

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Acknowledgments

We would like to show our gratitude to all children who were involved in this study and their parents for their patience and cooperation during the course of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, High Institution of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    HebatAlla Fathi Mohamed Mousa, Nesrin Kamal Abd-El-Fatah & Olfat Abdel-Hamid Darwish

  2. Buraidah, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia

    HebatAlla Fathi Mohamed Mousa

  3. Department of Pediatric oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    Shady Hassan Fadel

  4. Department of Biostatistics, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    Shehata Farag Shehata

Authors
  1. HebatAlla Fathi Mohamed Mousa
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  2. Nesrin Kamal Abd-El-Fatah
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  3. Olfat Abdel-Hamid Darwish
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  5. Shady Hassan Fadel
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Correspondence to HebatAlla Fathi Mohamed Mousa.

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Ethical approval was obtained from ethics committees of High Institute of Public Health and Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Mousa, H.F.M., Abd-El-Fatah, N.K., Darwish, O.AH. et al. Effect of Nigella sativa seed administration on prevention of febrile neutropenia during chemotherapy among children with brain tumors. Childs Nerv Syst 33, 793–800 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-017-3372-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-017-3372-7

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