Investigation of the loneliness perception and posttraumatic stress disorder in children hospitalized in an isolated room after hematopoiethic stem cell transplantation

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of staying in an isolated room and the intensity of screen exposure on the perception of loneliness and possible post-traumatic stress disorder in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and to compare them with the control group. Material and Method: The study was performed on pediatric patients aged 8-18 years who had and had not undergone bone marrow transplantation in the Pediatric Oncology Service of Akdeniz University Medical Faculty Hospital. Patients from 3 different groups were included in our study. The first is the children who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and stayed in an isolated room, the second is the children who have been hospitalized in the hematology oncology service due to similar malignancies but did not have a bone marrow transplantation and did not stay in the isolated room, and the third group was the healthy control group. These three groups were compared in terms of perception of loneliness and screen exposure, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Results: It was observed that child trauma (The Child Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-Reaction Index (CPTSDRI)) scale scores (especially severe and very severe trauma) were significantly increased in the patient group who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and those who did not, compared to the controls (p<0.001). Problematic media use and loneliness perception scale scores were found to be significantly higher in the patient group who undergone BMT, compared to the patient group without BMT and the control group (p=0.013 and p<0.001, respectively). It was determined that the t-score values of social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder did not make a difference between the patient groups with and without BMT, but were significantly higher in both patient groups than the control group (p < 0.001). Despite that; panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder t-score values were significantly higher in the patient group without BMT, compared to the patient group with BMT and control group (p<0.001 and p=0.013, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between patient group with BMT and the control group. The percentage of having a close friend was lower in the patient group without BMT (p=0.003) and the percentage of social media use was lower in the patient group with BMT (p=0.089). However, the rate of using a smartphone for gaming was higher in the patient group with and without BMT than it was in the control group (p=0.008), whereas using it for messaging and speaking was found to be significantly lower compared to the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Patients who underwent bone marrow transplantatiıon had higher levels of trauma and loneliness, social phobia, separation/generalized anxiety and major depressive disorder, while the levels of panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder were not different from the controls.