Clinical practice guideline and expert consensus recommendations for rehabilitation among children with cancer: A systematic review

Abstract

Increased attention to the rehabilitation needs of children with cancer is vital to enhance health, quality‐of‐life, and productivity outcomes. Among adults with cancer, rehabilitation recommendations are frequently incorporated into guidelines, but the extent to which recommendations exist for children is unknown. Reports included in this systematic review are guideline or expert consensus reports containing recommendations related to rehabilitation referral, evaluation, and/or intervention for individuals diagnosed with cancer during childhood (younger than 18 years). Eligible reports were published in English from January 2000 to August 2022. Through database searches, 42,982 records were identified; 62 records were identified through citation and website searching. Twenty‐eight reports were included in the review: 18 guidelines and 10 expert consensus reports. Rehabilitation recommendations were identified in disease‐specific (e.g., acute lymphoblastic leukemia), impairment‐specific (e.g., fatigue, neurocognition, pain), adolescent and young adult, and long‐term follow‐up reports. Example recommendations included physical activity and energy‐conservation techniques to address fatigue, referral to physical therapy for chronic pain management, ongoing psychosocial surveillance, and referral to speech‐language pathology for those with hearing loss. High‐level evidence supported rehabilitation recommendations for long‐term follow‐up care, fatigue, and psychosocial/mental health screening. Few intervention recommendations were included in guideline and consensus reports. In this developing field, it is critical to include pediatric oncology rehabilitation providers in guideline and consensus development initiatives. This review enhances the availability and clarity of rehabilitation‐relevant guidelines that can help prevent and mitigate cancer‐related disability among children by supporting access to rehabilitation services.

Incidence and prevalence of musculoskeletal health conditions in survivors of childhood and adolescent cancers: A report from the Swiss childhood cancer survivor study

“…14 , 15 Several studies have highlighted the importance of rehabilitation in mitigating the impact of the cancer treatment and improving physical functioning of survivors. 16 , 40 , 41 Even though guidelines recommend an assessment of children and adolescents with cancer by a rehabilitation professional, 42 evidence suggests that rehabilitation services are currently underutilised in this population. 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 Therefore, it is important to assess MSHCs in survivors during follow‐up care, as follow‐up care providers can initiate referral to rehabilitation services if indicated.…”

Children with non-central nervous system tumors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy are at risk for hearing loss and cognitive impairments

“…CCS must be connected with evidence-based rehabilitation interventions and other academic or behavioral supports based on testing recommendations ( 27 , 31 ). Developing, testing, and implementing cognitive rehabilitation interventions in clinical practice must be prioritized given the paucity of effective cognitive interventions for CCS ( 32 , 33 ). While the current body of evidence for cognitive interventions among CCS is small, clinicians and researchers can consider the use of physical activity and computerized cognitive training programs for CCS ( 34 , 35 ).…”

A look at phonetics and the pragmatic component of language from a speech therapy point of view

“…Sin embargo, si a medida que crecen tienen problemas en formar ciertos sonidos, es posible que el niño padezca un trastorno fonológico; los cuales se nombran como: dislalia evolutiva, dislalia funcional, dislalia orgánica, dislalia audiógena. (18) El trastorno fonológico o dislalia se caracteriza principalmente por dos hechos: la dificultad de pronunciar sonidos en el habla y la dificultad en la elección y ubicación de los sonidos que componen una palabra.…”