Biomedical subjects

M A Zevon

Publications and source records attributed to M A Zevon.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1989

Pregnancy outcome after treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia during childhood or adolescence.

To evaluate gonadal function and pregnancy outcome after treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia during childhood or adolescence, 44 former patients who were less than 20 years of age at diagnosis, 5 or more years from diagnosis, and 18 or more years of age were contacted. Thirty-nine (88%) provided information regarding pregnancy outcome. Gonadal function as estimated by the ability to conceive or sire a pregnancy, was not impaired despite treatment with substantial cumulative doses of methotrexate, 6-mercaptopurine, vincristine, and 1-asparaginase. Twelve patients reported a total of 27 pregnancies. There were four spontaneous abortions, one stillborn, and 22 liveborn infants. The birthweights were 1928 to 4536 g (median, 3430 g). Two infants had congenital anomalies. The childrens' ages ranged from 1 month to 10 years, 2 months (median, 6 years, 1 month). None has been diagnosed with any type of childhood cancer. The results of this study suggest that pregnancy outcome is not affected adversely by treatment received during childhood or adolescence for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMed1989

Attributions of responsibility in adolescent cancer patients and their parents.

Attributions of responsibility have been shown to be important determinants of illness behavior in adults. This study examines the salience of attributional judgements among adolescents with cancer. Patients and their parents were categorized according to their attributions of responsibility for the cause of and solution to the adolescent's health problems into one of four attributional models. Of the four possible models, only two were represented: the medical and compensatory. Only 37.5% of parent/child pairs were concordant for model choice. Patients whose attributions conformed to those of the compensatory model sought more information (F = 5.1, (P = .03), were satisfied with the information supplied (F = 3.5, P = .07), and expressed the belief that a greater percentage of prescribed medications needed to be taken if a cure was to result (F = 4.1, P = .05). Side effects were more often experienced by patients whose responsibility attributions exemplified the medical model (F = 5.09, P = .03). Model concordance did not relate to parent/child agreement on health-related beliefs, patient age, sex, or compliance measures (P greater than .05). No relationship was found between parent-child model concordance and patient's self-reported medication compliance. The present data do not support the notion that attributions of responsibility for cause and solution of cancer should be important targets of interventions designed to increase medication compliance among cancer patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

The role of parent-adolescent concordance in compliance with cancer chemotherapy.

In an attempt to examine factors affecting compliance with orally administered chemotherapy agents, we have examined the relation of agreement of parents and their adolescent children on various treatment-related issues and compliance with cancer chemotherapy. In a longitudinal study, 16 parent/cancer patient pairs were interviewed regarding their knowledge and understanding of illness, medications, and treatment, and their medication compliance. Adolescent responses matched closely those of parents on topics pertaining to medication dose, frequency, number, and purpose. Age was positively correlated with agreement for medication instructions. Disagreements were more commonly found in patients under 17 years of age. Compliance was greater when parents and patients agreed on who was responsible for medication administration, and on their understanding of medication instructions, number, and effectiveness. Treatment of the adolescent oncology patient should include consideration of psychosocial developmental factors, encourage parent-child communication, and place less reliance on self-administered therapy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Compliance of pediatric and adolescent cancer patients.

Compliance with self-administered therapy in pediatric and adolescent patients is not always complete. Noncompliance may result in erroneous conclusions about the efficacy of a given therapy and lead to unnecessary tests and alteration of treatment regimens. To examine the causes of noncompliance, 46 cancer patients aged 2.5 to 23 years (mean age, 6.85 years) and 40 parents were extensively interviewed at 2 weeks, 20 weeks, and 50 weeks post-diagnosis. The results of self-reported compliance were corroborated by serum bioassay of the prescribed medications. A significant correlation between the age of patient and compliance with chemotherapeutic agents and nonchemotherapeutic medications was found (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.02, respectively), with adolescent patients being compliant less often. Over the course of therapy, compliance among patients decreased, but not significantly. A significant negative correlation was found between compliance and the number of children in the family. Compliers and noncompliers did differ significantly in how well they understood instructions concerning how to take their medication (P = 0.04). No significant correlations between compliance and stage of the disease, number or type of drugs used, complexity of the regimen, degree of satisfaction with information given to the patient, understanding of disease, treatment, or belief in medication efficacy were found. The main reasons given for noncompliance were forgetfulness, busy schedules, and nonavailability of medication. More compliers than noncompliers were in agreement with their parents regarding who was responsible for the administration of the medication. Compliance is a complex and multifaceted issue which interrelates with a large number of medical and social factors.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1986

The use of goal attainment scaling to evaluate a cancer research training program for high school and college students.

Goal attainment scaling has been used frequently in the evaluation of mental health services. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of the goal attainment scaling methodology in the evaluation of a cancer research training program. Subjects were 62 high school and college students participating in a summer research program. Prior to the program, all students were asked to predict the specific outcomes they expected to attain in relation to eight independent dimensions of the research training program. At the close of the program students were asked to indicate the outcome they attained for each dimension. Students also ranked the importance of each dimension. The analyses indicated that participants entered the program with accurate expectations of their ultimate achievement and satisfaction with the program. Significant differences were found for expected outcomes on a number of program dimensions for the high school and college students at the preprogram assessment. Significant differences were also found for the high school and college students' importance rankings at both the pre-program and post-program period. Goal attainment scaling proved to be a valuable and flexible technique for the evaluation of a cancer research training program.

Adolescent↗