Dados do Trabalho

Título

"Didn't think it could be cancer": What Do Parents of Children with CNS Tumors Say About Barriers to Seeking Medical Care at Symptom Onset?

Introdução

Pediatric brain tumors often have a longer interval to diagnosis compared to other pediatric malignancies due to no pathognomonic/non-specific signs and symptoms that are common to other pediatric illnesses. Patient (parental) interval is defined as the interval between symptom onset and initial presentation to a healthcare professional. A limited knowledge of signs/symptoms of the disease is associated with parental lag-times.

Objetivo

To assess factors reported by parents of children with CNS tumors as barriers to seeking medical attention at the onset of their children’s symptoms related to the tumor diagnosis.

Método

Cross-sectional study; application of questionnaires to parents of children with CNS tumors treated at a single center.

Resultados

One hundred parents participated in the study. The mean parental interval was 58.1 days. The most frequent symptoms reported by them that motivated seeking medical attention were morning and/or persistent vomiting (49%), followed by headache (43%) and abnormal gait/frequent falls (23%). The most important barrier reported by them was “didn’t think it could be cancer” (99%), followed by difficulty in accessing/getting care (20%), distance (8%), and financial difficulty (3%). Among all factors analyzed for parents’ interval such as socioeconomic status, parental education, parents’ age, children’s age, and number of symptoms at presentation were not correlated with parental interval in this series.

Conclusão

Understanding the factors associated with the parental interval for the diagnosis of CNS pediatric brain tumors is crucial for improving the time to diagnosis. In our study, the most significant barrier reported by parents was “didn’t think it could be cancer,” indicating a low awareness of the alarm signs for brain tumors. This underscores the need for targeted interventions, as parental education is a modifiable factor that could significantly reduce diagnostic delays.