Rostagno Elena, Rivi Veronica, Sarti Pierfrancesco, Guastella Pietro, Scarponi Dorella, Blom Johanna Maria Catharina
Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Department of Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Cancer Med. 2025 Jul;14(14):e71051. doi: 10.1002/cam4.71051.
Pediatric cancer patients experience unique and multifaceted sleep disturbances due to the disease, treatment regimens, and the hospital environment. These disruptions can detrimentally impact neurocognitive functioning, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life, making accurate sleep assessment critical yet challenging in this population.
To examine and evaluate the current tools used to assess sleep quality in pediatric oncology patients, with a focus on their reliability, feasibility, and relevance to clinical and research settings.
A scoping review methodology was employed to identify and synthesize studies using various sleep assessment tools in pediatric cancer populations. Tools reviewed included actigraphy, sleep diaries, validated sleep scales, and polysomnography. Studies were analyzed for general reliability, feasibility in clinical and research contexts, and applicability to pediatric oncology-specific concerns.
The review found that while actigraphy and sleep diaries are frequently used because of their noninvasive nature and relative ease of implementation, limitations exist in terms of consistency and interpretability. Sleep scales varied in their psychometric properties and relevance across age groups and treatment phases. Polysomnography, though considered the gold standard, was less feasible in routine clinical settings because of its complexity and cost. Across tools, variability was observed in the alignment between measured parameters and clinically relevant sleep issues in pediatric cancer patients.
A wide range of tools exists for assessing sleep in pediatric oncology, each with distinct strengths and limitations. Selection of the most appropriate tool should consider the specific sleep concern, patient age, clinical context, and resource availability. This review provides a framework for clinicians and researchers to make informed choices, encouraging thoughtful integration of sleep assessments into both practice and study design.
由于疾病、治疗方案和医院环境，儿科癌症患者经历着独特且多方面的睡眠障碍。这些干扰会对神经认知功能、情绪健康和整体生活质量产生不利影响，使得准确的睡眠评估在这一人群中至关重要但又具有挑战性。
检查和评估目前用于评估儿科肿瘤患者睡眠质量的工具，重点关注其可靠性、可行性以及与临床和研究环境的相关性。
采用范围综述方法来识别和综合使用各种睡眠评估工具对儿科癌症人群进行研究的文献。所审查的工具包括活动记录仪、睡眠日记、经过验证的睡眠量表和多导睡眠图。对研究进行分析，以评估其总体可靠性、在临床和研究背景下的可行性以及对儿科肿瘤特定问题的适用性。
综述发现，虽然活动记录仪和睡眠日记因其无创性和相对易于实施而经常被使用，但在一致性和可解释性方面存在局限性。睡眠量表在心理测量特性以及不同年龄组和治疗阶段的相关性方面存在差异。多导睡眠图虽然被认为是金标准，但由于其复杂性和成本，在常规临床环境中不太可行。在各种工具中，观察到儿科癌症患者测量参数与临床相关睡眠问题之间的一致性存在差异。
有多种工具可用于评估儿科肿瘤患者的睡眠，每种工具都有不同的优势和局限性。选择最合适的工具应考虑具体的睡眠问题、患者年龄、临床背景和资源可用性。本综述为临床医生和研究人员做出明智选择提供了一个框架，鼓励在实践和研究设计中审慎地纳入睡眠评估。
