The goals of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of depression and anxiety screening in on-therapy adolescents with cancer, determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety in this sample, and assess the concordance between patient and oncologist report of patient symptoms. Forty-one adolescents (ages 12 to 18 y) undergoing cancer therapy in an outpatient oncology clinic completed the Beck Youth Inventory II (BYI II) Depression and Anxiety scales. Treating oncologists independently rated patient depression and anxiety. Ninety-eight percent of patients agreed to participate and average time to measure completion was <15 minutes. Mean T-scores for the BDI-Y (Depression module) and BAI-Y (Anxiety module) for most were not different than published norms. Three and 2 patients scored in the moderate-extremely elevated range of the BAI-Y and BDI-Y, respectively. There were no associations between scores and sex, age, diagnosis, time since diagnosis, or treatment intensity. A depression and anxiety-screening program is feasible in the outpatient pediatric oncology setting. Rates of adolescent self-reported anxiety and depression are low, although oncologists perceived more patient distress. This is an area for future investigation.

We report on a young adult female presenting with altered mental status and chest pain. Timely review of her electronic medical record revealed a history of panhypopituitarism with poor medication adherence, although this was unknown at the time of her initial evaluation.The patient required hormone replacement and significant fluid resuscitation, followed by definitive treatment with a pericardiocentesis. She was discharged home on hospital day 4, with normalization of her diminished left ventricular ejection fraction at her 1-month follow-up.Although panhypopituitarism and cardiac tamponade are rare diagnoses, we highlight the management of severe hypothyroidism, the importance of early administration of hydrocortisone for panhypopituitarism, and the need for aggressive volume expansion to maintain preload in cardiac tamponade.