Uso de máscaras personalizadas na otimização do tratamento de radioterapia pediátrica

Abstract

Radiotherapy is an essential modality for the treatment of cancer patients. The most frequent tumors in childhood and adolescence are leukemias, Central Nervous System (CNS), Lymphomas, Neuroblastomas, among others. In Brazil, cancer already is the first cause of death (8% of total) due to diseases among children and adolescents from 1 to 19 years. For the treatment of these pathologies of the head and neck and CNS region, it is necessary to have the immobilization and reproducibility of the appropriate positioning of the patient during the treatment, the Thermoplastic masks. The use of this accessory in pediatric treatments is a great challenge, due to the child's aversion to the accessory, and it is therefore necessary to use sedation during the treatment. We need to demonstrate that devices that facilitate treatment adherence, through personalized masks of superheroes, playfully include the pediatric patient in the therapeutic dynamics and reduce the need for sedation for this purpose. PURPOSE: To describe the technical steps for the construction of thermoplastic masks decorated with characters for the immobilization of pediatric patients. METHODS: This work presents an illustrative and descriptive tutorial on how to customize children 's thermoplastic masks. The main research source is the Radiotherapy service of the Piauiense Association to Combat Cancer - Hospital São Marcos, in Teresina, Piauí state capital, reference in cancer treatments. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the personalization of thermoplastic masks contributes to the humanization character, reduces the need for sedation, contributing to the logistics of the sector, reducing toxicity in the patient.