Department of the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy, The Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, New York, NY.
J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2024 Jan 1;46(1):51-56. doi: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000002785. Epub 2023 Nov 10.
Pediatric Hematology Oncology patients undergo frequent needlestick procedures, often leading to negative outcomes including pain and anxiety. Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to minimize pediatric patient distress; however, its utilization by a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) to reduce patient distress has not been widely studied.
Pediatric patients receiving needlesticks in the Hematology Oncology Clinic were enrolled between March 2018 and May 2021. Patients who had scheduled visits when the facility dog was present were assigned to the intervention group. Patients were assigned to the control group if the facility dog was not present. The primary objective was to use the Children's Anxiety and Pain Scale to determine whether the CCLS and facility dog dyad minimized patient pain and anxiety during procedures.
A total of 285 patients, 5 to 17 years of age, were enrolled. One hundred forty-three patients were assigned the intervention and received procedural support from the CCLS and facility dog; 142 patients were assigned the control group and received support from the CCLS only. Patient-reported pain scores were significantly lower among patients who received the intervention ( P =0.033).
Utilization of a CCLS and facility dog dyad during painful needlestick procedures decreases patient-reported pain compared with utilization of CCLS support alone.
儿科血液肿瘤科患者经常需要进行针穿刺程序，这常常导致包括疼痛和焦虑在内的负面结果。动物辅助治疗已被证明可最大程度地减轻儿科患者的痛苦；然而，由认证儿童生活专家（CCLS）利用其减轻患者痛苦的应用尚未得到广泛研究。
2018 年 3 月至 2021 年 5 月期间，在血液肿瘤科诊所接受针穿刺的儿科患者参与了这项研究。当有设施犬在场时，安排有预约的患者进入干预组。如果设施犬不在场，则将患者分配到对照组。主要目的是使用儿童焦虑和疼痛量表确定 CCLS 和设施犬的组合是否在程序中最小化了患者的疼痛和焦虑。
共纳入了 285 名 5 至 17 岁的患者。143 名患者被分配到干预组，并接受了 CCLS 和设施犬的程序支持；142 名患者被分配到对照组，仅接受了 CCLS 的支持。接受干预的患者报告的疼痛评分明显较低（P=0.033）。
在疼痛的针穿刺程序中，使用 CCLS 和设施犬的组合可降低患者报告的疼痛，与仅使用 CCLS 支持相比。
