Precautions for taking medication at home during the maintenance phase of acute lymphocytic leukemia

Parents are relieved that they can take their own medication at home for the whole month and return to the hospital for regular review. Many problems should be tried to deal with by themselves at this time: 1. Oral medication is also a part of chemotherapy and should be taken seriously and also be as complete and compact as possible. Do not think it is not important to take it orally at home, as a result, insufficient oral dose will affect the efficacy as well; however, if the discontinuation time is too long, making the interval between bone penetration and lumbar puncture too long, it is necessary to contact with the doctor before deciding. Zhang Aijun, Department of Pediatric Internal Medicine, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University 2. Blood check before taking the drug is very important, especially at the beginning of the maintenance phase, not sure of the size of the child’s reaction to the drug, must not just eat without checking, some children’s liver detoxification of 6-MP is relatively poor, once irreversible liver and kidney damage occurs will be too late to regret. The interpretation of the blood routine can be found in the previous article “Reading the Blood Routine”.3. For the dose prescribed by the doctor, parents should not adjust it without permission, and must understand it clearly before discharge. The correct way to take the medication is: after the routine blood test and liver and kidney function are not abnormal, start oral methotrexate (MTX) once a week for three weeks, and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) once a night for 21 days, the two drugs are started at the same time, some parents think that after the end of 6-MP and then start oral MTX, some parents think that one time to take too much MTX, so they separate it with 6-MP and take it every day. Some parents think that the MTX is too much to take at one time, so they take it separately from the 6-MP and take it every day. Some parents have reversed the two kinds of medications, taking it every week when it should be taken every day, and taking it every day when it should be taken every day, which are incorrect and will affect the therapeutic effect or increase the physical damage. In addition, during the time of oral medication at home, children should pay attention to reasonable nutrition, appropriate exercise, to live like an ordinary child, do not overprotective, keep a happy mood, do their best to restore the immune system, and make a good transition for the future smooth discontinuation of medication.