PURPOSE/ OBJECTIVES: To assess the validity of filter paper (FP) against the gold standard of passive drool (PD) for collecting salivary alpha amylase as a surrogate biomarker of psychological stress in adolescents with cancer. DESIGN: Part of a longitudinal, descriptive study of symptoms in adolescents with cancer during chemotherapy. SETTING: A pediatric hematology/oncology treatment center. SAMPLE: 33 saliva sample pairs from nine adolescents with cancer, aged 13-18 years. METHODS: Salivary alpha amylase was collected by PD and FP at four time points during a cycle of chemotherapy: days 1 (time 1) and 2 (time 2) of chemotherapy, day 7-10 (time 3), and day 1 of the next cycle (time 4). A random effects regression was used to assess the correlation between PD and FP values, and a Bland Altman analysis was conducted to assess agreement between the values. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Salivary alpha amylase. FINDINGS: The estimated correlation between PD and FP values was r = 0.91, p < 0.001. Regression results were also used to rescale FP values to the levels of the PD values because the FP values were on a different scale than the PD values. The Bland Altman analysis revealed that the agreement between the rescaled FP values and PD values was not satisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: Eluted FP may not be a valid method for collecting salivary alpha amylase in adolescents with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Psychological stress in adolescents with cancer may be linked to negative outcomes, such as greater symptom severity and post-traumatic stress disorder. Nurses need valid, efficient, biobehavioral measures to assess psychological stress in the clinical setting.
PURPOSE/ OBJECTIVES: To assess the validity of filter paper (FP) against the gold standard of passive drool (PD) for collecting salivary alpha amylase as a surrogate biomarker of psychological stress in adolescents with cancer. DESIGN: Part of a longitudinal, descriptive study of symptoms in adolescents with cancer during chemotherapy. SETTING: A pediatric hematology/oncology treatment center. SAMPLE: 33 saliva sample pairs from nine adolescents with cancer, aged 13-18 years. METHODS:Salivary alpha amylase was collected by PD and FP at four time points during a cycle of chemotherapy: days 1 (time 1) and 2 (time 2) of chemotherapy, day 7-10 (time 3), and day 1 of the next cycle (time 4). A random effects regression was used to assess the correlation between PD and FP values, and a Bland Altman analysis was conducted to assess agreement between the values. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Salivary alpha amylase. FINDINGS: The estimated correlation between PD and FP values was r = 0.91, p < 0.001. Regression results were also used to rescale FP values to the levels of the PD values because the FP values were on a different scale than the PD values. The Bland Altman analysis revealed that the agreement between the rescaled FP values and PD values was not satisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: Eluted FP may not be a valid method for collecting salivary alpha amylase in adolescents with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Psychological stress in adolescents with cancer may be linked to negative outcomes, such as greater symptom severity and post-traumatic stress disorder. Nurses need valid, efficient, biobehavioral measures to assess psychological stress in the clinical setting.
Authors: Mark A Wetherell; Anna L Crown; Stafford L Lightman; Jeremy N V Miles; Joey Kaye; Kavita Vedhara Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology Date: 2006-04-18 Impact factor: 4.905
Authors: Urs Markus Nater; Roberto La Marca; Ladina Florin; Anthony Moses; Wolfgang Langhans; Markus M Koller; Ulrike Ehlert Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology Date: 2005-07-05 Impact factor: 4.905