Stressing on more child-friendly procedures a new study says that diagnosis of cancer and treatment puts children at a greater risk of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Post traumatic stress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder caused by exposure to a traumatic event and PTSD patients relive their traumatic experiences via memories, flashbacks or nightmares. They tend to avoid anything that reminds them of the trauma and face problems with concentration, hyper vigilance or insomnia.
Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Children's Hospital Zurich found a significant number of pediatric cancer patients - one in five -suffering from PTSD. This is the first-kind-of-its study PTSD, thought to be an adult condition, affecting infants and toddlers.
Professor Markus Landolt and colleagues included 48 cancer patients and their mothers for the study. The mothers provided details about their children's condition. A majority of the children included in the study were found suffering from PTSD during cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The researchers found children aged above 18 months at higher risk of developing a stress disorder than younger children. Among the total number of children, nine (18.8 percent) were found suffering from PTSD and another 20 children (41.7 percent) exhibited some symptoms related to a stress disorder like anxiety and flashbacks.
According to the authors of the study, the occurrence can further put children at greater risks of developing other long-term psychological disorders.
"The results of our study show that cancer and its treatment can also have a traumatic impact in babyhood and infancy," Landolt said in a statement. "More care should be taken to ensure that potentially stressful procedures, such as bone marrow aspiration, are carried out as child-friendly and painlessly as possible."
The authors also urged health practitioners to initiate some methods that help to improve the children's sense of security in hospital and provide psychological support to the parents.
The study has been published in the journal Psycho-Oncology.
