Animal-assisted therapy in pediatric urodynamics.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric urology
• Animal-assisted therapy
• Medical procedure innovation

Background:

• Urodynamics (UDS) testing is often challenging for children due to anxiety and discomfort.
• Anesthesia is frequently required for pediatric UDS catheterization, increasing procedural complexity and cost.
• Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has not been previously studied in the context of pediatric UDS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of AAT in improving the success rate of pediatric UDS without anesthesia.
• To assess the impact of AAT on reducing patient distress during UDS procedures.
• To identify potential patient populations who may benefit most from AAT during UDS.

Main Methods:

• A pilot case series involving 7 pediatric patients (ages 4-16) who previously could not complete awake UDS.
• AAT was implemented before and during the UDS procedure.
• Patient distress was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) before and after AAT.

Main Results:

• UDS testing was successfully completed in 6 out of 7 patients (85.7%) with the assistance of AAT, eliminating the need for anesthesia.
• Patient-reported distress levels significantly decreased after AAT intervention (VAS scores from 5.4 to 3.6, p=0.020).
• A discrepancy was noted between the reduction in subjective distress and the procedural success rate.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to report on the use of AAT during pediatric urodynamics.
• Preliminary findings indicate that AAT is a feasible intervention for improving pediatric UDS completion rates without anesthesia.
• While AAT may reduce subjective distress, its correlation with procedural success requires further investigation; it may be more beneficial for anxious children with prior UDS intolerance.