<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>To identify pediatric patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that are associated with chronic conditions and to evaluate the effects of chronic disease activity on PROs.</p>
<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>Participants 8-24 years-old and their parents were enrolled into 14 studies that evaluated PROMIS® PROs across 10 chronic conditions--asthma, atopic dermatitis, cancer, cancer survivors, chronic kidney disease, Crohn's disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, lupus, sickle cell disease, and type 1 diabetes mellitus. PRO scores were contrasted with the United States general population of children using nationally representative percentiles. PRO-specific coefficients of variation were computed to illustrate the degree of variation in scores within versus between conditions. Condition-specific measures of disease severity and Cohens d effect sizes were used to examine PRO scores by disease activity.</p>
<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Participants included 2,975 child respondents and 2,392 parent respondents who provided data for 3,409 unique children: 52% were 5-12 years-old, 52% female, 25% African-American/Black, and 14% Hispanic. Across all 10 chronic conditions, children reported more anxiety, fatigue, pain, and mobility restrictions than the general pediatric population. Variation in PRO scores within chronic disease cohorts was equivalent to variation within the general population, exceeding between-cohort variation by factors of 1.9 (mobility) to 5.7 (anxiety). Disease activity was consistently associated with poorer self-reported health, and these effects were weakest for peer relationships.</p>
<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Chronic conditions are associated with symptoms and functional status in children and adolescents across 10 different disorders. These findings highlight the need to complement conventional clinical evaluations with those obtained directly from patients themselves using PROs.</p>
<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Using patient-reported outcomes for symptom monitoring in oncology has resulted in significant benefits for adult patients with cancer. The feasibility of this approach has not been established in the routine care of children with cancer.</p>
<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>The Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (Ped-PRO-CTCAE) is an item library that enables children and caregivers to self-report symptoms. Ten symptom items from the Ped-PRO-CTCAE were uploaded to an online platform. Patients at least 7 years old and their caregivers were prompted by text/email message to electronically self-report daily during a planned hospitalization for chemotherapy administration. Symptom reports were emailed to the clinical team caring for the patient, but no instructions were given regarding the use of this information. Rates of patient participation and clinician responses to reports were systematically tracked.</p>
<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>The median age of the participating patients (n = 52) was 11 years (range, 7-18 years). All patients and caregivers completed an initial login, with 92% of dyads completing at least 1 additional symptom assessment during hospitalization (median, 3 assessments; range, 0-40). Eighty-one percent of participating dyads submitted symptom reports on at least half of hospital days, and 54% submitted reports on all hospital days. Clinical actions were taken in response to symptom reports 21% of the time. Most patients felt that the system was easy (73%) and important (79%). Most clinicians found symptom reports easy to understand and useful (97%).</p>
<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Symptom monitoring using patient-reported outcome measures for hospitalized pediatric oncology patients is feasible and generates data valued by clinicians and patients.</p>