![]() They were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and Chronic lymphocytic leukemia/Small lymphocytic lymphoma. Since the 2nd to the 29th April 2020 (during the first phase of the lockdown period in Italy), 77 outpatients were prospectively evaluated. Moreover, patients were investigated about their worries regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their lives as onco-hematologic patients. ![]() The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered to all patients. In this context, we have evaluated the psychological status of onco-hematological outpatients receiving infusion and not deferrable anti-neoplastic treatment for lymphoproliferative neoplasms, with the aim of both measuring the levels of post-traumatic symptoms, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic and also of investigating the perception of risk of potential nosocomial infection. Despite this, they had still to go to hospital to receive chemotherapy during lockdown. ![]() Moreover, an increase in referrals to appropriate supportive care resources must be prioritized for high risk patients.Ĭancer patients are a population at high risk of contracting COVID-19 and, also of developing severe complications due to the infection, which is especially true when they are undergoing immunosuppressive treatment. ![]() Given that the COVID19 pandemic will likely impact cancer care for an indefinite period of time, clinicians must exhibit increased vigilance in their assessments of patients’ level of stress and symptom burden. – We identified alarmingly high rates of stress and an extraordinarily high symptom burden among cancer patients, exceeding those previously benchmarked in this population and on par with non-cancer patients with PTSD. Symptom severity scores equate with clinically meaningful levels for each symptom. In this stressed group, patients reported occurrence rates for depression (71.2%), anxiety (78.0%), sleep disturbance (78.0%), evening fatigue (55.9%), cognitive impairment (91.5%), and pain (75.9%). Stressed group’s IES-R score exceeds previous benchmarks in oncology patients and equates with probable PTSD. Of the 187 patients in this study, 31.6% were categorized in the stressed group (Impact of Event Scale –Revised (IES-R score of >24)). – Patients were >18 years of age had a diagnosis of cancer and were able to complete an online survey. In addition, we determined which of these characteristics were associated with membership in the high stressed group. We evaluated for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, levels of social isolation and loneliness, and the occurrence and severity of common symptoms between oncology patients with low versus high levels of COVID-19 and cancer-related stress. No information is available on oncology patients’ level of stress and symptom burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from this study may inform design of a future multicenter randomized VR trial for PBT patients and may aid in development of similar interventions for other oncology populations.Ĭ (NCT04301089), registered 9 March 2020. Use of immersive VR is an innovative interventional approach to target distress and scanxiety symptoms in PBT patients who are at high risk for experiencing these symptoms leading into their clinical appointments. Additionally, a qualitative phone interview will be conducted to assess patient satisfaction with the intervention. Following the intervention, over the course of 1 month patients can use VR at their discretion with follow-up assessments done immediately post-VR intervention, as well as 1 week and 4 weeks later. Following completion of baseline assessments, participants will complete a 5-min VR intervention via telehealth using a head-mounted immersive device while under supervision of the research team. PBT patients (N = 120) with upcoming MRI scans and clinical appointments who meet eligibility will be recruited to participate in a single arm trial conducted remotely through the NIH. The primary aim of this phase 2 clinical trial is to establish the feasibility of a remote VR-based relaxation intervention for a PBT population, with secondary aims designed to determine preliminary efficacy of improving distress and anxiety symptoms. There is promising evidence supporting use of virtual reality (VR) to target psychological symptoms in other solid tumor patients, though PBT patients have not been studied extensively in this context. Primary brain tumor (PBT) patients experience higher levels of distress and anxiety than other solid tumor patients, particularly at the time of clinical evaluation when uncertainty about disease status is high (“scanxiety”).
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