Accuracy and completeness of adult recall for invasive medical procedures experienced during the treatment of childhood leukemia

The accuracy and completeness of adult recall for central and peripheral details of invasive medical procedures experienced during the treatment of childhood leukemia was investigated. Twenty-two adult men and women were asked to recount the specific sequence of events surrounding their painful medical procedures by use of a free recall and a structured interview format. Accurate and completeness of recall was not affected by age at the time of their first medical procedure. Additionally, regardless of the participant's age at the time of their first procedure they were not misled by suggestive questioning. The adults' memory was affected however, by the number of invasive medical procedures they received over the course of their treatment. The more invasive medical procedures the participants received, the more accurate they were in recalling central details asserted during both the free recall and the structured interviews. Additionally, the more invasive medical procedures they received, the more inaccurate they were for peripheral details asserted during their free recall of those procedures.