Published in:
01-05-2017 | Original Paper
Effect of Nigella sativa seed administration on prevention of febrile neutropenia during chemotherapy among children with brain tumors
Published in: Child's Nervous System | Issue 5/2017
Login to get accessAbstract
Purpose
Seeds of Nigella sativa (NS) are used to combat various disease conditions through their antibacterial effects. To evaluate the seeds’ potential, we studied their effect on the prevention of febrile neutropenia (FN) in children with brain tumors.
Methods
A randomized pretest-post-test control group study including 80 children (2–18 years) with brain tumors undergoing chemotherapy were equally allocated into two groups. Intervention group received 5 g of NS seeds daily throughout treatment while controls received nothing. CBC with differentials, incidence of FN, and LOS were noted on each follow-up.
Results
The majority of children 38/40 (95%), of the intervention group, took the seeds for 3–9 consecutive months. Eight out of 372 (2.2%) FN episodes were experienced by children of intervention group compared to controls 63/327 (19.3%) (p = 0.001) and a shorter LOS (median = 2.5 days) vs 5 days in the control group (p = 0.006). Children in both groups belonged to almost same geographical area with similar socio-economic background. Weights of children were almost equal at diagnosis.
Conclusion
NS seeds showed a decrease in incidence of FN in children with brain tumors with shortening of subsequent LOS which may improve their outcome and thereby quality of life. Larger scale studies are needed to further evaluate the seeds’ potential.