Interventions for the Management of Cognitive Problems in Children who Survived after the Treatment of Leukemia

Abstract

Introduction: Both chemotherapy and cranial radiotherapy have a major impact on the occurrence of long-term effects, including cognitive effects. Interventions with or without medication have been studied to address them. Purpose: The investigation of interventions for the management of the cognitive problems of childhood leukemia survivors. Material and Method: This is a systematic review of the literature carried out from 20-03-2020 to 30-06-2020 for the period 2001–2020. The criteria for the inclusion of an article in the study was to be written in English, to be completely relevant to the subject of the study, the sample to be relevant to childhood leukemia survivors, the article to be a clinical or descriptive study. After a systematic and critical evaluation of the articles, 14 articles were included in the study. Results: There have been few studies investigating interventions for the management of the cognitive problems of childhood leukemia survivors. The 7 studies dealt with the treatment of cognitive problems with the administration of drugs and the 7 with the treatment of cognitive problems without the administration of drugs. From drug-administered interventions, methylphenidate (MPH) administration appears to have a positive effect and significantly improves attention skills, cognitive and social function, cognitive flexibility and processing speed, visual-spatial memory, and behavior. From drug-free interventions, education and/or support and/or counseling appear to have a positive effect on improving attention, academic achievement, problem-solving ability, learning skills, mathematical calculation skills, visual working memory, of processing speed. Conclusions: Despite the limited literature, the cognitive problems of childhood leukemia survivors can be managed both with medication and with the application of educational methods.