Effect of additional patient information on preoperative anxiety in children with support from a dog-assisted intervention - a randomized controlled trial

Effect of additional patient information on preoperative anxiety in children with support from a dog-assisted intervention - a randomized controlled trial - PAWS

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00038784

Enrollment

240

Registered

2026-05-06

Start date

2026-05-29

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-06-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

preoperative anxiety at the operating theatre entrance

Interventions

Group 1: Intervention group: After inclusion in the study, participation in the intervention "preoperative anesthesia orientation session for children with a therapy dog" before the day of surgery Gro

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

5 Years to 10 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Child attends school (at least primary school) Planned, elective surgery in the central operating theatre of the University Hospital RWTH Aachen General anaesthesia with ventilation Guardian's informed consent According to the guardian, the child is able to participate in a child-friendly and age-appropriate preoperative anesthesia orientation session as planned in the study A preoperative anesthesia orientation session takes place before the planned surgery date Availability of the child and guardians to attend the scheduled intervention session

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Child or guardian refuses participation Guardian unable to give consent Child or guardian with language barrier Child under legal guardianship Guardian under legal guardianship Child with ASA grade III – V Child has already undergone surgery Emergency surgery Child takes anxiolytics Child with allergy to dogs Child is afraid of dogs

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Preoperative anxiety in children at the operating theatre entrance on the day of surgery assessed using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (short form) (domain: external assessment) and the Visual Analogue Scale Anxiety (domain: self-assessment)	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Preoperative anxiety of the child at the operating theatre entrance based on the Visual Analogue Scale Anxiety (external assessment by guardian) Preoperative anxiety of the child at the operating theatre entrance based on the Visual Analogue Scale Anxiety (external assessment by anaesthetist) Guardian satisfaction with preoperative anaesthesiological information	—

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Jun 11, 2026