Feasibility,efficacy,and safety of animal-assisted activities with visiting dogs in inpatient pediatric oncology

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外文摘要：Background Childhood cancer entails a heavy burden for patients and their families.Recent advances in overall survival rates have increasingly brought long-term quality of life into focus.Animal-assisted activities(AAAs)have long been hypothesized to alleviate the burden on pediatric patients and their peers in the hospital setting.However,their use in inpatient pediatric oncology has been a sensitive issue mainly due to the fear of infections,resulting in a lack of studies.This study presents data on the feasibility,safety,and efficacy of AAAs from a single German center.Methods Between 2018 and 2022,60 patients(median age=10.3 years)diagnosed with malignancy and undergoing treat-ment were visited by an intervention dog(total visits=100).Patients were screened for infections as per hospital policy,with additional microbiological testing performed based on symptoms.The dog was screened for human pathogens and zoonoses.Microbial data and hospitalizations were analyzed from two months prior to the first visit until two months after the last visit.Acceptance of being in the hospital,both with and without planned animal-assisted interventions and pre-and post-intervention state stress,were measured using a validated visual analogue scale(0-10).Results Patients benefited from AAAs,showing increased acceptance of being in the hospital(median:7.25 vs.4.50,P＜0.001)and decreased median state stress ratings one hour after the visit compared to one hour before the visit(1.00 vs.4.25,P＜0.001).The intervention did not result in an increased number of infections or unplanned hospitalizations,and no zoonoses were detected.All microbial screening tests of the dog were negative.Conclusions AAAs with visiting dogs in inpatient pediatric oncology are feasible and safe.Although they hold promise for enhancing patients'well-being,further prospective studies are needed.

外文关键词：

Animal-assisted activitiesAnimal-assisted interventionsAnimal-assisted therapyFeasibilityInfection controlInpatient pediatric oncologySafetyStress responseTherapy dogVisiting dog

作者：

Katja Steff、Maximilian Grasemann、Kira Ostermann、Sarah Christina Goretzki、Peter-Michael Rath、Dirk Reinhardt、Michael M.Schündeln

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作者单位：

Pediatric Hematology and Oncology,Department of Pediatrics Ⅲ,University of Duisburg-Essen,Hufelandstr.55,45122 Essen,Germany

Department of Psychology,Medical School Hamburg,Hamburg,Germany

Pediatric Infectiology,Department of Pediatrics Ⅰ,University of Duisburg-Essen,Essen,Germany

Institute of Medical Microbiology,University of Duisburg-Essen,Essen,Germany

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基金：

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEALprivate donation and Essen University Hospital Foundation"Stiftung Universit?tsmedizin"

项目编号：

出版年：

2024

DOI：

10.1007/s12519-024-00829-8

世界儿科杂志(英文版)

CSTPCD

ISSN：

年,卷(期)：2024.20(9)