Authors: Lauren C Daniel Yimei Li Jacqueline D Kloss Anne F Reilly Lamia P Barakat
Publish Date: 2016/04/23
Volume: 24, Issue: 9, Pages: 3897-3906
Abstract
Corticosteroids can affect sleep patterns mood and behavior Two of the most commonly prescribed corticosteroids in acute lymphoblastic leukemia ALL dexamethasone and prednisone may impact sleep differently but no research has compared these medications in children The current study tested the hypothesis that dexamethasone and prednisone differentially affect sleep in children with ALL to understand how these medications contribute to healthrelated quality of life HRQLParents of 81 children 3–12 years old in maintenance therapy for ALL completed a baseline measure of child sleep dexamethasone n = 55 prednisone n = 26 and 61 parents returned 28 days of child sleep diaries starting the first day of a 5day steroid course dexamethasone n = 43 prednisone n = 18 Parents also completed measures of HRQL and fatigue on the last day of steroids and the last day of the monthAt baseline parents reported more sleep disturbances in children taking dexamethasone than prednisone Across the month children taking dexamethasone experienced poorer sleep quality compared to children taking prednisone During corticosteroid treatment children taking dexamethasone also experienced more night awakenings than children taking prednisone Sleep variables accounted for almost half of the variance in HRQL during time off steroids and also significantly contributed to fatigue during the corticosteroids course and time off corticosteroidsSleep is an essential component of HRQL in children taking corticosteroids and the impact on sleep is more pronounced in children taking dexamethasone compared to prednisone Screening for sleep disturbances and offering brief interventions to manage steroidrelated sleep disruptions may improve HRQL
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