Clinical Hypnosis in Pediatric Crohn's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Psychosomatic Medicine
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Crohn's disease (CD) significantly impacts adolescents' quality of life (QoL).
• Standard care for pediatric CD may not fully address psychosocial and pain management needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate clinical hypnosis (CH) as an adjunctive therapy for adolescents with CD.
• To assess CH's impact on QoL, abdominal pain, psychosocial measures, and disease activity.

Main Methods:

• Forty adolescents with CD were randomized to a hypnosis intervention (HI) or waitlist control (WC) group.
• The intervention included CH sessions, self-hypnosis education, and home practice recordings over 8 weeks.
• Outcomes measured included QoL, pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, school absences, and disease activity.

Main Results:

• Parent-reported QoL improved significantly in the HI group compared to WC (total score, social, and school functioning).
• Abdominal pain severity decreased significantly more in the HI group.
• School absences were significantly reduced in the intervention group.

Conclusions:

• Clinical hypnosis is an acceptable and feasible adjunctive therapy for adolescents with Crohn's disease.
• CH shows potential to improve psychosocial quality of life and reduce abdominal pain in this population.
• Further research is warranted to confirm these findings and explore long-term effects.