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Distress and radiological investigations of the urinary tract in children
D Phillips1, A R Watson, J Collier
1Paediatric renal Unit, City Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
Insights
Micturating cystourethrogram (MCUG) investigations cause more distress than radionuclide scans. Parental coping styles significantly impact child distress during urinary tract imaging, suggesting preparation programs can help.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric radiology
- Child psychology
Background:
- Radiological investigations can cause distress in children.
- Parental explanation and coping styles may influence this distress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess distress levels in children undergoing urinary tract radiological investigations.
- To explore the relationship between parental coping styles and child distress.
Main Methods:
- Questionnaire survey using the Groningen Distress Rating Scale and Utrecht Coping List.
- Comparison of distress between micturating cystourethrogram (MCUG) and radionuclide investigations.
- Correlation analysis of parental coping styles with child distress.
Main Results:
- Micturating cystourethrogram (MCUG) was significantly more distressing than radionuclide investigations.
- Passive and palliative parental coping styles were associated with increased MCUG distress.
- Cognitive coping styles modeled by parents reduced distress during dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy.
Conclusions:
- Micturating cystourethrogram (MCUG) is highly distressing for children.
- Parental preparation and coping strategies can mitigate distress.
- Active preparation programs for children and parents before MCUG are recommended.
Unlabelled:
The distress associated with radiological investigations may be related to the information and style of parental explanation given to the child and the parents own coping style. In a questionnaire survey we assessed distress in relation to investigations of the urinary tract using the Groningen Distress Rating Scale and the Utrecht Coping List. We found the micturating cystourethrogram (MCUG) to be significantly more distressing than radionuclide investigations. MCUG distress was adversely correlated with passive and palliative parental coping styles. Results suggested that cognitive coping styles modelled by the parents ameliorated distress on dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy.
Conclusion:
The high level of MCUG associated distress and presence of traumatised children in the MCUG sample, along with the potential for parental contribution to distress reduction, suggests that both children and parents would benefit from more active preparation programmes prior to MCUG testing.