Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Mental status changes in children with systemic cancer.

Nuno Lobo Antunes1

  • 1Department of Neurology and Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.

Pediatric Neurology
|August 6, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Changes in mental status in pediatric cancer patients are often iatrogenic, primarily due to opioid-induced encephalopathy. Neuroimaging is crucial for unexplained somnolence but less so for hallucinations.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Seizures in children with systemic cancer.

Pediatric neurology·2003
Same author

Back and neck pain in children with cancer.

Pediatric neurology·2002
Same author

Radiation myelitis in a 5-year-old girl.

Journal of child neurology·2002
Same author

Methotrexate leukoencephalopathy presenting as Klüver-Bucy syndrome and uncinate seizures.

Pediatric neurology·2002

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Neuro-oncology
  • Systemic Cancer Management

Background:

  • Altered mental status is a common neurologic consultation reason in pediatric cancer patients.
  • Existing literature on this specific patient group is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review neurologic consultations for mental status changes in pediatric cancer patients.
  • To analyze clinical presentation, etiology, underlying cancer, and neuroradiologic findings.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of neurologic consultations for pediatric cancer patients with mental status changes.
  • Analysis of clinical data, cancer type, and neuroimaging results.

Main Results:

  • Hematologic malignancies were present in over half of the patients.
  • Iatrogenic encephalopathy, mainly opioid-related, was the predominant cause.
  • Toxic-metabolic deficits were rare; multiple causative factors were common.
  • Neuroimaging aided unexplained somnolence but was less effective for hallucinations.

Conclusions:

  • Altered mental status is frequent in actively treated pediatric cancer patients, often iatrogenically induced.
  • Hallucinations suggest toxic-metabolic dysfunction; neuroimaging may be unrewarding.
  • Brain imaging is mandatory for unexplained somnolence, even without focal signs.

Related Experiment Videos