Unidade de Psiquiatria, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Lisbon, Portugal.
Clínica de Dor, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Lisbon, Portugal.
Pain Med. 2021 Dec 11;22(12):3051-3061. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnab118.
This was a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and impact of a single dog-assisted therapy (cynotherapy) session in reducing pain and emotional distress in oncological outpatients compared with typical waiting room experience (control).
This was a quasi-experimental before-after controlled study that took place at a chronic pain outpatient clinic of a tertiary cancer center, whose participants were adult oncological patients, able to consent and without medical contraindication.
Chronic pain outpatient clinic of a tertiary cancer center.
Adult oncological patients able to consent and without medical contraindication.
All participants completed self-reported questionnaires including a numeric rating scale for pain and distress thermometer at admission and immediately before departure from the clinic.
Eighty-one patients were enrolled over a 10-month study period, 41 in the cynotherapy group and 40 controls. Improvement was greater in cynotherapy than control group for pain (median difference score = -1.0 vs 0.0; P = 0.037), distress levels (median = -1.0 vs 0.0; P = 0.017), and depression (median = -1.0 vs 0.0; P = 0.030). The proportion of patients with a clinically relevant improvement in pain (reduction ≥2 points) was approximately twofold in the cynotherapy group when compared with controls, although not statistically significant (39% vs 20%, odds ratio = 2.53, 95% confidence interval = 0.86-8.02; P = 0.088). The mean satisfaction rate was 9.3/10, and no negative occurrences were reported.
A single session of dog-assisted therapy can provide immediate improvement in the perception of pain and distress for patients with chronic cancer pain in an outpatient setting, with high satisfaction rates and no negative occurrences. This nonrandomized pilot study points toward the clinical relevance of implementing cynotherapy at a cancer pain clinic and developing a larger scale, more directed study.
本研究旨在评估单次犬辅助治疗（动物辅助疗法）对减轻肿瘤门诊患者疼痛和情绪困扰的可行性和影响，与典型候诊室体验（对照组）相比。
这是一项在三级癌症中心慢性疼痛门诊进行的准实验前后对照研究，参与者为成年肿瘤患者，能够同意且无医学禁忌证。
三级癌症中心慢性疼痛门诊。
能够同意且无医学禁忌证的成年肿瘤患者。
所有参与者在就诊时和离开诊所前立即完成自我报告问卷，包括疼痛数字评分量表和痛苦温度计。
在 10 个月的研究期间，共纳入 81 例患者，其中 41 例接受动物辅助治疗，40 例为对照组。与对照组相比，动物辅助治疗组的疼痛（中位数差值评分=-1.0 对 0.0；P=0.037）、痛苦水平（中位数=-1.0 对 0.0；P=0.017）和抑郁（中位数=-1.0 对 0.0；P=0.030）改善更为显著。与对照组相比，动物辅助治疗组疼痛缓解≥2 分的患者比例（减少≥2 分）约为两倍，但差异无统计学意义（39%对 20%，优势比=2.53，95%置信区间=0.86-8.02；P=0.088）。平均满意度为 9.3/10，无不良事件发生。
单次犬辅助治疗可在门诊环境中即刻改善慢性癌痛患者对疼痛和痛苦的感知，满意度高，无不良事件发生。这项非随机的初步研究表明，在癌症疼痛诊所实施动物辅助疗法具有临床意义，并可开展更大规模、更有针对性的研究。
