Computerized psychometry screening in long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

This study assessed the diagnostic utility of a computerized psychometry battery of tests: the Bexley-Maudsley Automated Psychological Screening Test and Category Sorting Test in the screening for deficits in cognitive function in a population of children who had been treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Central nervous system therapy with radiotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy has been incriminated as a cause of psychological morbidity in survivors. Twenty-nine children who were surviving in their first hematological remission, following cessation of their treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, were studied. No child had evidence of central nervous system leukemic involvement, and they were all attending normal schools. Their performances were compared with 29 control children matched by age, sex, and social class. The children treated for leukemia showed a reduced ability to sustain attention (p less than 0.025), a reduction in verbal recognition short term memory (p less than 0.02), and difficulties in abstract problem solving (p less than 0.01). These results confirm the presence of neurophysical morbidity in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is suggested that this computerized psychometry test battery is a useful method for examining children at risk of neurological impairment and identifies specific deficits that require further evaluation and remedial help.