Physical functioning of children/adolescents who have completed acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of life of children who have completed ALL treatment with respect to physical functioning as compared to healthy children of similar age. Materials and methods. The research was conducted among patients treated in the Chair and Clinic of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology of Nicolaus Copernicus University Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, who completed acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment. It comprised children whose ALL treatment had finished at least 6 months prior to the research. The final group of patients who participated in the research consisted of 64 persons. Research referring to healthy children was carried out among students of primary schools, junior high schools and kindergartens throughout Bydgoszcz. Only children who had never undergone hospital treatment and did not suffer from chronic diseases were qualified for the said research. The comparative group included 70 healthy children. In order to evaluate the quality of life of children who had undergone ALL treatment and of healthy children James W. Varni’s standardized research instrument was used. Results. As far as children’s/adolescents’ subjective opinion is concerned, physical functioning was evaluated the lowest by adolescents aged 13-18. Pain and fatigue have a significant influence on lowering their quality of physical functioning. The highest evaluation of physical functioning was observed among patients aged 5-7. As far as indirect evaluation is concerned one can notice that physical functioning was evaluated the lowest by parents of children aged 13-18 and 2-4. While comparing physical functioning in both research groups major statistical differences in favour of the comparative group were noticed. Conclusion. The quality of life within the sphere of physical functioning of children and adolescents who have completed treatment is significantly lower than among healthy children.