Symptom Management and Psychosocial Needs of Adults With Acute Myeloid Leukemia During Induction Treatment: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND

Patients with a new diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at risk of experiencing a high symptom burden due to the disease and its treatment, which includes a long period of hospitalization.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this pilot work was to describe the multidimensional symptoms and health-related quality of life experienced by patients with a new diagnosis of AML across induction chemotherapy.

METHODS

A prospective, longitudinal descriptive study design was implemented to evaluate symptoms and health-related quality of life at the time of enrollment through 6 weeks postdiagnosis and identify who might be most at risk of experiencing high symptom burden.

RESULTS

A total of 19 participants were included in this analysis. Moderate to severe levels of distress were present in 25% to 50% of participants, depending on timing in treatment. Females and those with a previous history of a psychological disorder reported higher symptom burden during treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that adults with AML experience multiple distressing symptoms during the induction treatment.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Timely routine multidimensional assessment of symptoms in individuals undergoing induction chemotherapy treatment for AML is critical as they may be experiencing multiple concurrent symptoms. Additional research to advance symptom assessment and amelioration of distressing symptoms to improve health-related quality of life is needed in this unique population.