Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, USA.
Pain Med. 2013 Jan;14(1):43-51. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01522.x. Epub 2012 Nov 21.
Animal-assisted therapy using dogs trained to be calm and provide comfort to strangers has been used as a complementary therapy for a range of medical conditions. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of brief therapy dog visits for fibromyalgia patients attending a tertiary outpatient pain management facility compared with time spent in a waiting room.
Open label with waiting room control.
Tertiary care, university-based, outpatient pain management clinic.
A convenience sample of fibromyalgia patients was obtained through advertisements posted in the clinic.
Participants were able to spend clinic waiting time with a certified therapy dog instead of waiting in the outpatient waiting area. When the therapy dog was not available, individuals remained in the waiting area. OUTCOME MEASURES.: Self-reported pain, fatigue, and emotional distress were recorded using 11-point numeric rating scales before and after the therapy dog visit or waiting room time.
Data were evaluated from 106 therapy dog visits and 49 waiting room controls, with no significant between-group demographic differences in participants. Average intervention duration was 12 minutes for the therapy dog visit and 17 minutes for the waiting room control. Significant improvements were reported for pain, mood, and other measures of distress among patients after the therapy dog visit, but not the waiting room control. Clinically meaningful pain relief (≥2 points pain severity reduction) occurred in 34% after the therapy dog visit and 4% in the waiting room control. Outcome was not affected by the presence of comorbid anxiety or depression.
Brief therapy dog visits may provide a valuable complementary therapy for fibromyalgia outpatients.
使用经过训练能够保持平静并为陌生人提供安慰的治疗犬进行动物辅助疗法，已被用作一系列医疗条件的补充疗法。本研究旨在评估与在候诊室等待相比，短暂的治疗犬访问对在三级门诊疼痛管理机构就诊的纤维肌痛患者的影响。
开放标签，设有候诊室对照。
三级护理，以大学为基础的门诊疼痛管理诊所。
通过在诊所张贴广告获得纤维肌痛患者的便利样本。
参与者可以与经过认证的治疗犬一起度过诊所候诊时间，而不是在门诊等候区等候。当治疗犬不可用时，患者会留在等候区。
使用 11 点数字评定量表在治疗犬访问或候诊室时间前后记录自我报告的疼痛、疲劳和情绪困扰。
从 106 次治疗犬访问和 49 次候诊室对照中评估了数据，在参与者中，治疗犬组和候诊室对照组之间没有明显的组间人口统计学差异。治疗犬访问的平均干预时间为 12 分钟，而候诊室对照组为 17 分钟。在治疗犬访问后，患者的疼痛、情绪和其他困扰措施均有显著改善，但在候诊室对照组中则没有。治疗犬访问后有 34%的患者出现了有临床意义的疼痛缓解（疼痛严重程度降低≥2 分），而在候诊室对照组中则为 4%。合并焦虑或抑郁并不影响结果。
短暂的治疗犬访问可能为纤维肌痛门诊患者提供有价值的补充疗法。
