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Multidisciplinary rehabilitation for children with brain tumors: A systematic review
Daniel M Fountain1,2, G A Amos Burke1
1a Brainbow Neurorehabilitation Service, Department of Paediatric Haematology , Oncology and Palliative Care, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust , Cambridge , UK and.
Insights
Multidisciplinary rehabilitation shows limited evidence for improving outcomes in childhood brain tumor survivors. Further coordinated, multi-center studies with standardized measures are needed to assess efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Growing need for evidence-based multidisciplinary approaches in managing neurological sequelae from childhood brain tumors.
- Assessing both short-term and long-term impacts of treatment on pediatric brain tumor patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the evidence base for multidisciplinary rehabilitation in pediatric brain tumor patients.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of current rehabilitation strategies.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of seven databases adhering to PRISMA guidelines.
- Included three service evaluations from 3,061 identified results.
- Registered with PROSPERO (CRD42014015070).
Main Results:
- Limited evidence found supporting multidisciplinary rehabilitation for children with brain tumors.
- No meta-analysis was possible due to a lack of controlled trial data.
- Heterogeneity in interventions and outcome measures was observed.
Conclusions:
- Coordinated, multi-center studies are recommended for robust efficacy assessment.
- Standardized outcome measures are crucial for future research.
- Further investigation is needed to optimize multidisciplinary rehabilitation services.
Background:
There is an increasing need to assess the evidence of a multidisciplinary approach for both short-term and long-term management of neurological sequelae arising from the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors in childhood.
Methods:
We performed a systematic review of the evidence base for multidisciplinary paediatric brain tumor rehabilitation using seven databases. PRISMA guidelines were adhered to and the review was registered with the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (registration number CRD42014015070).
Results:
The literature search identified 3,061 results. Three service evaluations were included. The review identified limited evidence in favor of multidisciplinary rehabilitation for children with brain tumors. Due to the lack of controlled trial data and heterogeneity of the interventions and outcome measures, no meta-analysis could be performed.
Conclusions:
Studies utilising a coordinated multi-centre approach with standardized outcome measures are recommended in order to enable robust assessment of the efficacy of multidisciplinary rehabilitation services.
