Yoga Therapy in Children with Cystic Fibrosis Decreases Immediate Anxiety and Joint Pain

Mind-Body Interventions for Youth with Chronic Medical Conditions: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Background and purpose: Little is known about the applicability, utilization, and effectiveness of mind-body interventions (MBIs) for conditions that are not predominantly pain, neoplastic, or psychiatric, particularly in pediatric patients. This scoping review describes research pertaining to such interventions in youth with nonpain, noncancer, and nonpsychiatric predominant chronic medical conditions. Methods: Searches of EBSCO CINAHL, Elsevier Scopus, Ovid for MEDLINE, and Ovid PsycInfo were conducted to investigate MBIs in youth under 18 years of age with nonpain, noncancer, and nonpsychiatric predominant chronic medical conditions. Articles published between 2010 and 2020 were included. Abstracts were screened by three authors for inclusion, and disagreements were resolved by a designated author. Selected full-text articles were divided among all authors for review of study quality, intervention feasibility and acceptability, and effectiveness. Results: The search yielded 1010 titles with 15 meeting the final inclusion criteria, studying a total of 641 youth. Participants ranged in age from 6 to 19 years (included studies had data on participants <18 years reported separately); 61.5% were female (n = 394) and 38.5% were male (n = 247). The two most common conditions studied were asthma and irritable bowel syndrome, with yoga being the most popular intervention. Overall, MBIs showed promising preliminary evidence for improving symptoms and quality of life in youth with chronic medical conditions. Conclusion: MBIs have been successfully delivered and show promise in symptom palliation and quality of life improvement for youth with a variety of chronic medical conditions. More data from high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to further characterize the effectiveness of specific modalities for specific conditions.

System Architecture for VR Yoga Therapy Platform with 6-DoF Whole-Body Avatar Tracking

Chronic pain is a leading cause of morbidity among children and adolescents affecting 35% of the global population. Pediatric chronic pain management requires integrative health methods spanning physical and psychological subsystems through various mind-body interventions. Yoga therapy is one such method, known for its ability to improve the quality of life both physically and psychologically in chronic pain conditions. However, maintaining the clinical outcomes of personalized yoga therapy sessions at-home is challenging due to fear of movement, lack of motivation, and boredom. Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to bridge the gap between the clinic and home by motivating engagement and mitigating pain-related anxiety or fear of movement. We developed a multi-modal algorithmic architecture for fusing real-time 3D human body pose estimation models with custom developed inverse kinematics models of physical movement to render biomechanically informed 6-DoF whole-body avatars capable of embodying an individual's real-time yoga poses within the VR environment. Experiments conducted among control participants demonstrated superior movement tracking accuracy over existing commercial off-the-shelf avatar tracking solutions, leading to successful embodiment and engagement. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of rendering virtual avatar movements that embody complex physical poses such as those encountered in yoga therapy. The impact of this work moves the field one step closer to an interactive system to facilitate at-home individual or group yoga therapy for children with chronic pain conditions.

Analysis of Clinical Manifestations, Imaging Features, and Gene Mutation Characteristics of 6 Children with Cystic Fibrosis in China

Objective

To explore the clinical manifestations, imaging features, and gene mutation characteristics of 6 children with cystic fibrosis (CF) so as to improve the understanding and diagnosis awareness of CF in children and reduce the missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

Methods

The clinical manifestations, imaging, and gene mutation data of six children with CF were collected and retrospectively analyzed.

Results

Among the 6 cases of CF, there were 4 males and 2 females. Among the 6 children with CF, 5 cases presented with recurrent respiratory tract infection. Etiology suggested 3 cases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 2 cases of Staphylococcus aureus. 3 cases had pancreatic exocrine dysfunction, manifested as diarrhea and aliphatic diarrhea, of which 1 case had high lipase in blood examination, and pancreatic ultrasound showed rough and enhanced pancreatic echo, considering pancreatic cystic fibrosis. 2 cases of CF combined with pseudo-Bartter syndrome (PBS); 1 case involved only the biliary tract and started with cholestasis without other systemic involvement. In 2 cases of sweat test, sweat chloride ions were all >60 mmol/L. 3 cases underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy, and a large number of sticky secretions were visible under the bronchoscopy. CT of the chest revealed thickening of the bronchial wall (3 cases), bronchiectasis (1 case), atelectasis (1 case), and thin bronchial lumen (2 cases). 1 patient was found to have small airway lesions and mosaic perfusion during follow-up. All 6 children with CF underwent genetic testing. A total of 12 CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene mutations were found, of which 4 mutations were not reported in the literature.

Conclusion

CF is a disease caused by CFTR mutation. The incidence of this disease in China is low, and the clinical manifestations have great differences. The main symptoms are respiratory symptoms. Some children have gastrointestinal symptoms and/or PBS, and some children only show a single systemic lesion.

Actigraphic and patient and family reported sleep outcomes in children and youth with cystic fibrosis: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Sleep concerns are commonly reported by children and youth with cystic fibrosis (CF). Understanding normative sleep in the home environment and as reported from the perspective of patients and parents is a first step in responding to an important clinical concern and developing a sleep intervention strategy. This systematic review aimed to describe actigraphic and self/parent reported measures of sleep quantity; quality; and determine factors associated with poor sleep quantity and/or quality in children and youth (0-25yrs.) with CF.

METHODS

Five online databases; Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and CENTRAL were searched for relevant articles from inception-February 2020. Studies reporting primary data, using either qualitative/quantitative methods or both were eligible for inclusion. Eligible full text articles were independently screened by two reviewers. Data from included studies were independently extracted and synthesized by one reviewer and accuracy verified independently by a second reviewer.

RESULTS

This review found 31 articles that met inclusion criteria. Analysis found evidence demonstrating that actigraphic SE was lower, actigraphic nighttime awakenings were greater, and self/parent-reported measures of sleep quality were poorer in children and youth with CF. Study findings related to actigraphic TST, WASO, and self/parent-reported sleep duration were mixed. Thirteen factors demonstrated an association with poor quality sleep.

CONCLUSIONS

In children and youth with CF, evidence exists of objectively measured sleep disturbance and poor self/parent reported sleep quality. Further longitudinal and comparative research studies are warranted to better understand sleep disturbance in this population. Clinically, sleep assessment should be an integral part of routine CF care.

Yoga as a Complementary and Alternative Therapy in Children with Hematologic and Oncologic Disease

A diagnosis of a hematologic or oncologic disease in a child can be stressful for the patient and the family. Yoga as an intervention has been reported to decrease stress in adults diagnosed with chronic disorders but few studies have been reported with children and their families. A convenience sample of patients diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder (ages 7-17 years) and their caregivers was selected to participate in a single bedside yoga class. Participants were surveyed pre and post yoga with the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Scale. Children were also surveyed pre and post yoga with the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale. Children had a significant decrease in pain post yoga but no change in anxiety. Adolescents and parents had a significant decrease in anxiety post yoga intervention.

The Use of Yoga as a Group Intervention for Pediatric Chronic Pain Rehabilitation: Exploring Qualitative and Quantitative Outcomes

Purpose:

With the increase in opioid use over the last decade, mind–body approaches to pediatric pain management have been trending. To date, there is limited research regarding the use of yoga with pediatric chronic pain. This study aims to gauge the effectiveness of group yoga as part of chronic pain rehabilitation and one's ability to continue practicing independently by exploring qualitative and quantitative information.

Methods:

A single therapist used yoga as a group physical therapy intervention once a week for 60 minutes. Yoga education, iyengar yoga components, relaxation, and stretching were incorporated into the therapeutic yoga session. Qualitative and quantitative information was collected.

Results:

Qualitative outcomes provided valuable data about distractions and benefits. Quantitative outcomes showed that there were significant improvements in areas such as mental tension, emotional tension, muscle tension, and pain (all P < 0.001 significant).

Conclusion:

Pediatric chronic pain patients can identify many benefits after a single group yoga session. It combines the physical and cognitive aspects of interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation for continued use after discharge. The use of yoga is an economical means of physical activity after discharge to promote long-term benefits.

Yoga as an Intervention for the Reduction of Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of yoga for the reduction of symptoms of anxiety and depression in youth. To our knowledge, there are no systematic reviews to date looking at the reduction of symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Methods: Numerous scientific databases were searched up to November 2018 for experimental studies assessing changes in symptoms of anxiety and/or depression in youths following yoga interventions. Quality and level of evidence were assessed, and information was synthesized across studies. Results: Twenty-seven studies involving youth with varying health statuses were reviewed. Intervention characteristics varied greatly across studies revealing multiple factors that may impact intervention efficacy, however 70% of the studies overall showed improvements. For studies assessing anxiety and depression, 58% showed reductions in both symptoms, while 25% showed reductions in anxiety only. Additionally, 70% of studies assessing anxiety alone showed improvements and 40% of studies only assessing depression showed improvements. Conclusion: The studies reviewed, while of weak to moderate methodological quality, showed that yoga, defined by the practice of postures, generally leads to some reductions in anxiety and depression in youth regardless of health status and intervention characteristics.

Current Practices and Potential Nanotechnology Perspectives for Pain Related to Cystic Fibrosis

Pain is a complex, multidimensional process that negatively affects physical and mental functioning, clinical outcomes, quality of life, and productivity for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. CF is an inherited multi-system disease that requires a complete approach in order to evaluate, monitor and treat patients. The landscape in CF care has changed significantly, with currently more adult patients than children worldwide. Despite the great advances in supportive care and in our understanding regarding its pathophysiology, there are still numerous aspects of CF pain that are not fully explained. This review aims to provide a critical overview of CF pain research that focuses on pain assessment, prevalence, characteristics, clinical association and the impact of pain in children and adults, along with innovative nanotechnology perspectives for CF management. Specifically, the paper evaluates the pain symptoms associated with CF and examines the relationship between pain symptoms and disease severity. The particularities of gastrointestinal, abdominal, musculoskeletal, pulmonary and chest pain, as well as pain associated with medical procedures are investigated in patients with CF. Disease-related pain is common for patients with CF, suggesting that pain assessment should be a routine part of their clinical care. A summary of the use of nanotechnology in CF and CF-related pain is also given. Further research is clearly needed to better understand the sources of pain and how to improve patients’ quality of life.