Abstract

DORANTES-ACOSTA, Elisa et al. Quality of life in Mexican children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia affiliated with the Seguro Popular insurance program. Bol. Med. Hosp. Infant. Mex. [online]. 2012, vol.69, n.3, pp.242-254. ISSN 1665-1146.

Background. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multidimensional construct that integrates the individual perception to the disease, treatment, and performance in physical, psychological and social health areas. The aim of this study was to provide a reliable instrument to measure HRQoL in Mexican children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase we conducted a systematic review of the literature until 2011. Studies were selected from Medline. It was found that Pediatric Cancer Quality of Life Inventory (PCQL-3) is one of the most widely used instruments to assess HRQoL in children with ALL; therefore, it was applied to 123 patients treated at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez and to their parents in the second phase of the study. Results. From the systematic review, we selected 17 studies of the development of instruments to measure HRQoL in children with ALL, and 15 which described their quality of life. In the 123 patients evaluated, we found that HRQoL was lower among children with high-risk ALL and in those children during the early stages of treatment. It was also found that the most common conditions are nausea and anxiety related to medical procedures. Good agreement (Cronbach α = 0.834) was found in the scores of HRQoL between patients and parents. Conclusions. HRQoL measurement in children with ALL is a central part of the comprehensive assessment of their treatment and prognosis. The PCQL-3 scale is appropriate for its use in Mexican children.

Keywords : acute lymphoblastic leukemia; health-related quality of life; children; measurement scales.