Dados do Resumo

Título

Early Implementation of Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Benefits to Quality of Life, Advances, and Challenges.

Introdução

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common malignant disease in children. Due to the limited self-care capacity of these patients, family support becomes essential during this phase. Palliative care involves providing care in its biopsychosocial and spiritual dimensions, aiming to alleviate the child's suffering and offer comprehensive family support. This needs tend to become more evident as the disease worsens, making this approach typically more focused on the end of life.

Objetivo

Analyze the challenges, advancements, and benefits in the quality of life of pediatric oncology patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, arising from the early implementation of palliative care.

Métodos

This article presents an integrative review that encompasses the analysis of 28 articles on the early implementation of palliative care in pediatric oncology patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: benefits in quality of life, advancements, and challenges. The descriptors used were the terms "Palliative," "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia," and "Children." The review included 28 articles, with sources from PubMed (12) and Scielo (16). Inclusion criteria selected articles from the last 15 years related to the topic without conflicts of interest, while articles with different themes and publications older than 15 years were excluded to ensure the quality and credibility of the data analyzed for this study.

Resultados

Studies indicate that the cure of children with cancer is directly related to advances in supportive care. However, the misconception that palliative care is only for end-of-life situations hinders its early implementation, compromising quality of life and leading to avoidable deaths. Many patients seek support only in advanced stages of the disease, when no specific therapeutic options remain, highlighting the need to improve the training of healthcare teams to handle complex family dynamics and initiate palliative care earlier. Data from the Japan Association of Childhood Leukemia Study (JACLS ALL-02) show a reduction in the rate of hospital visits (PCV) for long-term follow-up in survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with about 30% between 21 to 29 years of age and ≥ 9 years after diagnosis. These data emphasize the importance of a proactive and integrated approach from the time of diagnosis.

Conclusões

It is observed that the early implementation of palliative care in children with ALL is essential to improve quality of life and prevent deaths. However, the stigma that palliative care is exclusively for end-of-life situations poses a barrier to its early adoption. It is necessary to enhance the training of healthcare teams and adopt a proactive approach from the time of diagnosis, ensuring continuous and comprehensive support for patients and their families.

Palavras Chave

Palliative Care; Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia; Children