Reducing Pediatric Patient Anxiety: Implementing a Nonpharmacologic Intervention to Aid Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy.

Pharmacologic interventions are often used to assist with immobilization and decrease anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing radiation therapy. For these patients, distraction can be an alternative to using pharmacologic measures to address anxiety. As a distraction technique, this pilot project placed pediatric patients aged 3 to 6 years in a remote-controlled ride-on car (RC-ROC) to enter and exit the radiation therapy treatment room. Evaluation of the effectiveness of this distraction technique included patient propofol dosing, time sedated, and time in the treatment room, as well as staff satisfaction with the technique.