Abstract
Purpose
Peripheral neuropathy is an important, yet poorly studied, side effect of pediatric cancer treatment. There are many measures of patient-reported peripheral neuropathy in adults but very few in children. We aimed to systematically review and summarize reliable and valid patient-reported peripheral neuropathy scales used in pediatrics.
Methods
Four major electronic databases (Medline, Embase, EBSCO Host in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PsycINFO) were reviewed for studies that measured peripheral neuropathy in pediatric patients. Studies eligible for inclusion were those that described use of any patient-reported scale of peripheral neuropathy among children, adolescents, and young adults with any underlying diagnosis (not limited to cancer).
Results
From a total of 765 articles retrieved, 5 met eligibility criteria and were included. One was a neuropathy symptom score used in patients with diabetes, and the remaining four were in oncology patients and all were based on the total neuropathy score. All involved objective assessments conducted by trained professionals; none relied purely on patient report.
Conclusions
There are no validated instruments that consist solely of a patient-reported outcome measure of neuropathy in pediatrics and adolescents. Because the clinical evaluation of neuropathy requires specialized training, it is not generalizable in large studies conducted in many diverse institutions. Future studies should validate adult patient-reported neuropathy scales in pediatric and adolescent populations, or develop novel instruments designed for this population.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Lizzie Caperon from the University of Leeds for her assistance with the electronic searches.
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The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The authors have full control of the primary data and agree to allow the journal to review data if requested.
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Johnston, D.L., Sung, L., Stark, D. et al. A systematic review of patient-reported outcome measures of neuropathy in children, adolescents and young adults. Support Care Cancer 24, 3723–3728 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3199-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3199-x