Perfil epidemiológico, clínico e laboratorial dos pacientes pediátricos acompanhados ambulatorialmente em remissão de doença neoplásica em hospital de referência de oncologia. Belém, Pará.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Currently, most pediatric patients, diagnosed with cancer, if identified and treated early and properly, has remarkeble healing chances. Registration and prolonged follow-up of these children before and after remission of the disease, allow the knowledge of both demographic and clinical information, the monitoring of early and late morbidity related to disease progression and treatment. OBJECTIVE: To describe epidemiological and clinical features of pediatric oncology patients in remission of disease from Ophir Loyola Hospital, from January 2006 to December 2009. METHODOLOGY: This work shows a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional through a review of medical records, evaluating pediatric patients (0-14 years) who underwent treatment in the cancer ward of Ophir Loyola Hospital, from January 2006 to December 2009, and were followed as outpatients in this hospital with the desease in remission. RESULTS: 104 patients were studied, of whon 60,6% were male, 43,3% had 1 to 4 years old, 62,5% were brown, 59,6% were from outside the metropolitan region of Belém. The follow-up time is over 4 years in 50% of patients. The most commom cancers were the hematologic ones, among them ALL, with 30,8% of the cases, was the most relevant diagnosis. In 45% of patients had 4 or more months between the initial symptoms and the beginning of treatment. The cutaneous-mucosal pallor (41,3%), the fever (39,4%) and the weight loss (28%) were the most frequent signs and symptoms. Among the evaluable tumors in the moment of diagnosis, 50% had local extension, only 5,1% had lymph node involvement and metastasis occurred in 11,3%. Chemotherapy was the most accomplished treatment (99%), and it was the therapy related to the higher percentage of complications (38,8%), among them the febrile neutropenia was the most frequent (20,4%). 44,1% of patients were followed by pediatric oncology, psychology and social assistance concomitantly. On admission, patients had anemia in more than 80%, leucopenia in 44,2%, thrombocytosis in 24% of cases, elevated LDH in 42%. CONCLUSION: The clinical and epidemiological profile of these patients was to that of hematologic malignancies, especially ALL, for its higher prevalence. The early clinical suspicion and early treatment are known factors for prognosis. During treatment and after healing is achieved, patient follow-up is essential for identify and remedy the potential complications.