Effectiveness of complementary therapies for the management of symptom clusters in palliative care in pediatric oncology: a systematic review.
Study Goal
To evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic massage in managing symptom clusters, particularly pain-anxiety-worry-dyspnea, in children and adolescents with cancer undergoing palliative care.
Results Summary
Therapeutic massage showed statistically significant results for managing the pain-anxiety-worry-dyspnea symptom cluster in two studies, suggesting potential effectiveness in palliative care settings.
Population
Children and adolescents with cancer undergoing palliative care.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
therapeutic massage | decrease | cluster pain-anxiety-worry-dyspnea | children and adolescents with cancer undergoing palliative care | - | presented statistically significant results for the management | #1 |
Reiki | decrease | cluster pain-anxiety-worry-dyspnea | children and adolescents with cancer undergoing palliative care | - | presented statistically significant results for the management | #2 |
therapeutic massage | decrease | symptom clusters | children and adolescents undergoing palliative care | - | may be effective for the symptom clusters management | #3 |
Reiki | decrease | symptom clusters | children and adolescents undergoing palliative care | - | may be effective for the symptom clusters management | #4 |
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of complementary therapies in the management of symptom clusters in children and adolescents with cancer undergoing palliative care. METHOD: Systematic review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, resorting to the databases MEDLINE, Web of Science, Central Cochrane, and PsycINFO. The identification, selection, inclusion, extraction, and methodological assessment were conducted by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: Five quasi-experiments met the eligibility criteria. The heterogeneous characteristics of the studies made meta-analysis impossible. Two studies used therapeutic massage, one used Reiki, one used boswellic acid, and one used Cannabis sativa; three of them (therapeutic massage and Reiki) presented statistically significant results for the management of the cluster pain-anxiety-worry-dyspnea. Most studies presented a moderate risk of bias as per ROBINS-I tool. CONCLUSION: Therapeutic massage and Reiki may be effective for the symptom clusters management, especially the pain-anxiety-worry-dyspnea cluster in children and adolescents undergoing palliative care.