Stress effect of COVID-19 pandemic among Egyptian children and adolescents with malignancy: a single-center experience

Abstract

Background Thoughts and feelings of stress and worry are common for any person facing the challenges of a serious illness. Aim The aim was to assess the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological well-being of patients with malignancy compared with age-matched and sex-matched controls and to compare the psychological effect of COVID-19 with the psychological effect of malignancy among the patient group. Patients and methods This case–control study included 46 participants diagnosed with malignancy who were compared with 45 healthy age-matched and sex-matched individuals serving as a control group. Their ages were more than 8 years. All patients and controls were subjected to history taking with an emphasis on age, sex, educational level, history of chronic medical illness in the family, disease status, physical symptoms during the last 14 days, and data about COVID-19 infection. The psychological effect was measured using the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale Crises-13. Results Mean age of the patient group was 11.76±3.31 years. There were 30 male and 16 female in the case group, who were compared with 45 age-matched and sex-matched healthy children and adolescents. There was a significantly higher prevalence of psychological stressful effect among the healthy children group than the oncological pediatric patients. The psychological effect related to malignancy diagnosis was significantly higher than the psychological effect related to COVID-19. Conclusion COVID-19 pandemic is a stressful event; however, the psychological effect related to cancer diagnosis among the oncological patients showed a higher stressful effect.